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Publisher: Perfect WorldDeveloper: Gunfire GamesRelease: August 20, 2019Reviewed on: PCAlso on: PlayStation 4, Xbox OneShredding through packs of monsters and elite enemies through swamps, deserts, and technologically advanced hallways is what drives Remnant: From The Ashes, and the progression loop is alluring. Whether you enjoy the satisfying burst-pop from a single-shot pistol or the steady damage from a beam rifle, Remnant gives you myriad options. Since each iteration of the world is generated from a different seed, procedural pieces snap together to create encounters and unlocks your friends may not see, making your first run fresh, mysterious, and inviting.
Starting off in a version of fallen Earth, the player must restore a fantastical and futuristic world. While the combat system in Remnant is a compelling beast all its own, much of the structure and framework in the title taps into From Software’s iconic Souls franchise, from critically timed dodge rolls to limited-use health items, checkpoints, fog-gated boss arenas, and boss drops to unlock new gear options.
Click here to watch embedded mediaUpgrading your equipment, traits, and active abilities is satisfying; I fell in love with a critical-focused build that increased crit damage along with tools to create a consistent barrage of critical hits. The first few times you face a boss and master their tactics are great, but too many use the “Well, here’s a big guy and lots of little guys” concept. Plus, none of the bosses are especially memorable, save for one errant bridge foe that may be a sly hat tip to Dark Souls’ Moonlight Butterfly.
The first trek through the world is the best and the most challenging, but Remnant is built for multiple playthroughs, enticing players to seek things they missed the first time around. Area after area, gun after gun, and boss after boss, your options continue to expand as you advance. Each playthrough’s seed comes with plenty of secret areas and a smattering of bosses, but you can’t do it all solo in one run. Instead, you’re encouraged to join other players to find additional bosses and special areas. You can always reroll the campaign over and over to find them on your own, but the game is substantially better with a little jolly cooperation.
However, the addictive nature of the title falls off hard after a couple runs; while there may be some secrets left to unearth, you just don’t have the incentive or drive to do so. After you understand the world's rules and layouts, subsequent runs only take a few hours. The mystery of what’s to come next gets handily demystified as you realize that Remnant has only a handful of potential boss fights in any given biome, and relatively few decisions to make.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
Players pump points into traits, upgrade gear, and flesh out a bare-bones story hub that provides a marginal sense civilization’s fall and potential revival. Remnant delivers its story in conversations with random denizens and notebooks stuffed with lore. I’m a fan of this approach; the tale is out there if you want it, but it’s also completely skippable if you just want to cut deep into the meat.
Strong systems and a satisfying gameplay loop give Remnant: From The Ashes a powerful foundation, even if the experience is mired by repetitive and uninteresting bosses and environments. The first 10 hours are challenging and intriguing, leaving you voracious for more loot, more bosses, and more traits. After that, some of the wonder vanishes as you relive past glories rather than continuing to forge new ones.
Score: 8.5
Summary: Strong systems and a satisfying gameplay loop give Remnant: From The Ashes a powerful foundation, even if the experience is mired by repetitive and uninteresting bosses.
Concept: Take on big bosses, level up, and loot in a fallen reality
Graphics: Some armor sets and weapons look great, but many of the models and environments are uninspired
Sound: Repetitive chirps and generic sound effects do little to suck the player in
Playability: Mastering gunplay and defensive tactics is critical and could be overwhelming for those not prepared for a fierce threats
Entertainment: Gobs of lackluster bosses and lack of any real endgame experience drag down a whimsical world full of secrets, challenges, and fun customization
Replay: Moderate
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Hello john,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
john joined on the 08/29/2019.
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Hello Stealthofthefox54,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Stealthofthefox54 joined on the 08/29/2019.
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Click here to watch embedded media
Publisher: SEGADeveloper: Ryu Ga Gotoku StudiosRelease: 2020Platform: PlayStation 4
Sega and Yakuza series developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Games have announced Yakuza 7 – a new mainline Yakuza title set for a release in 2020 here in the States on PlayStation 4.
According to Gematsu, who has a translation of the game's debut in Japan, the game is subtitled Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon here in the West, and in its home-country goes by the name Yakuza: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness.
The series is known for its ferocious street fighting, but Yakuza 7 mixes things up by layering on a "live command RPG battle" system where players select techniques with effects such as attack, recovery, support, etc. How this plays out for gamers moment-to-moment and how it combines with Yakuza's traditional gameplay will be an interesting challenge for the title.
The game introduces a new protagonist: Ichiban Kasuga – a member of the Arakawa family of the Tojo Clan who has just been released from jail after serving an 18-year sentence. Kasuga was taking the fall for a crime actually committed by a yakuza higher-up in the organization.
Instead of being greeted by a grateful boss, however, he's literally left for dead in Yokohama – a city that's apparently three times the size of Kamurocho in previous titles.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
[Source: Gematsu, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio]
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Hello rams95,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
rams95 joined on the 08/29/2019.
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Publisher: UbisoftDeveloper: Ubisoft ParisRelease: October 4, 2019Rating: MaturePlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
When Ubisoft debuted Ghost Recon Breakpoint, a fair number of series purists groaned when they saw footage of the Ghosts fighting off legions of killer drones. But if you've been paying attention to the cutting edge of the military-industrial complex, that future is already here.
When brainstorming ways to up the difficulty in Breakpoint and present new cooperative challenges to players, Ubisoft spoke with Matthieu Bonnery, a former operations officer in the French Ministère de la Défense. He told them to take a meeting with Milrem Robotics, a military contractor that’s been making drones since 2013. If you’re unfamiliar with the company, here’s what they’ve been up to recently.
Click here to watch embedded mediaUsing this technology as inspiration, Ubisoft felt good about making drones a centerpiece of the adversarial experience in Breakpoint. Drones are the ultimate soldier. They are highly resistant to the environment and can operate on any terrain. They don’t need much downtime, and armed with machine learning, they can adapt to the threats they face. Their modular design means they can be equipped to handle a variety of tasks, and one militarized drone can carry more weapons and ammo than any fleshy super soldier you can name. If a drone is destroyed on the field of battle, you don’t need to send a letter to a grieving family. And perhaps most importantly for the power-hungry, morally questionable leaders in the world, a drone won’t second guess its orders.
To create some variety, Ubisoft designed more than 20 drones for the world of Breakpoint, each of which has different strengths, weaknesses, and operational objectives.
The flying drones are a problem no matter where you are. These militarized sentries are used to keep the wilderness and base camps under supervision. They often move in swarms like bees, and their unpredictable flight patterns make them a tricky target.
The toughest part about fighting the flying drones is they are smart enough to try and preserve line of sight, repositioning when you try to take cover. They also don't give up pursuit easily. Even if you hop in a vehicle and high tail it out of a fire zone, they will give chase. Either you kill them or you die.
The ground drones may not have the agility of their aviation-based brethren, but they pack a serious punch. Many of the ground-based drones have multiple mounted guns, which allows them to target multiple players at once. Each of the ground drones carries different weapons, but all are well armored. You need to shoot off protective plates to reveal the glowing heart of these steel beasts. Each also has a glowing eye. If you deal enough damage there you can momentarily stun the drone, opening up a brief window to line up critical shots with heavy payloads like grenade launchers and rocket launchers.
The most dangerous drones of all are the hulking Behemoths, which provide one of the toughest challenges in Breakpoint. At launch, 21 of these monsters will be patrolling secured regions of Auroa, and they require strategy and precision to take down. Ubisoft wants them to feel like a mythological beast that should be feared, and the multiple Gatling guns and burst rocket launchers do a good job of commanding respect. Their rockets can shoot at up to four players at the same time, and when you drain their health enough they start indiscriminately unleashing mortar salvos.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint releases October 4 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can get your hands on the game in advance during the beta that kicks off September 5. To learn more about the game, read our previous coverage:
- Everything You Need To Know About Ghost Recon Breakpoint
- Touring The Archipelago Auroa
- Ubisoft Explains Why Ghost Recon Breakpoint Has A Fictional Setting
- A.I. Partners Coming To Ghost Recon Breakpoint Post-Launch
- Finding Authenticity In Ghost Recon Breakpoint's Fiction
- Breaking down Breakpoint's PvP Mode
- Exploring Ghost Recon Breakpoint's Crafting And Endgame Content
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Publisher: Bandai NamcoDeveloper: Supermassive GamesRelease: August 30, 2019Rating: MatureReviewed on: Xbox OneAlso on: PlayStation 4, PC
I let out a startled shriek as a two-headed demon leaps into the room. Rather than running away, I stand my ground and jab a knife into the ghoul. Over my Xbox Live headset, my friend screams, “Stop! It’s me! You’re attacking me!” His words come too late, however; my knife descends into his character’s side one last time, stealing his life. My friend and I sit in silence for a few seconds, and then we both burst into nervous laughter over the craziness of what just transpired.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is at its best when you are playing it with friends, either two-player co-op online (which gives you control of different characters at the same time) or with five people in the same room (with each controlling a specific character and passing the gamepad). The reactions from your friends enhance any scenario, whether you pull off a narrow success or miss a button prompt that results in a character’s death. In online co-op, even if your characters are together, you may see things your friend doesn’t, which fosters a pervasive sense of uncertainty, paranoia, and fear. This is one of those games that is enhanced by players talking as the horror unfolds.
Click here to watch embedded mediaMan of Medan is the spiritual successor to Supermassive Games’ brilliant PlayStation 4 title Until Dawn. The studio’s fingerprint is immediately recognizable in Man of Medan. The game is brimming with jump scares, life-or-death decisions, chapters ending with a creepy curator discussing what happened, and known actors (like Shawn Ashmore, Ayisha Issa, and Pip Torrens) delivering great performances. Being able to play this type of horror game with friends brings a fun new wrinkle to Supermassive’s formula, but a bland story and poor pacing leads to far too much downtime, and boredom sets in.
Before the experience hits a lull, Supermassive does a nice job of setting the stage for players through a flashback sequence that shows an old war ship transform into a ghost-infested nightmare filled with dead soldiers. In the five or six hours of gameplay that follow this reveal, not much else happens in terms of narrative build up. I won’t spoil too much, but the answers the game provides to your burning questions are not satisfying.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
When the five playable characters are introduced, Supermassive spends far too much time developing them, and the experience drags for a good 30 to 40 minutes until they step foot on the ghost ship. Even here, however, the game plods along with little to do or see outside of rusted rooms that may occasionally hold a corpse. Only when a character starts hallucinating does the action pick up, and this doesn’t happen enough.
The atmosphere is consistently creepy, and even though not much is happening, Supermassive tries to keep players on their toes with jump scares, such as a steam pipe bursting loudly or a rat jumping out of a box. The scares are done well, and the visuals that accompany them are excellent, both in terms of detail and the cinematography that frames them. The only visual hiccup comes when your online friend makes a dialogue choice. The game zooms in on his or her character's face for a few awkward seconds as the choice is made.
Trying to keep all five of the playable characters alive is the primary goal, and it’s a stressful one, as one failed button press can lead to one of their deaths. They all died horribly in my first playthrough, and then I saved two in the next. If that sounds fun to you, to get the most out of it, play the game online with a friend. Those moments where you are separated bring about an intense unease, and hearing what your friend is going through can be quite hilarious for all of the wrong reasons.
Click here to watch embedded mediaEven though you have complete control of your character for exploration purposes, Man of Medan’s action feels like it’s on rails. If you are shooting a gun or are swinging a wrench, you are asked to move a cursor to a specific location before time expires. When a character runs or jumps, you simply watch it happen and are asked to hit a button at the right time. To stand still in a corner and hold your breath, you perform rhythmic button presses not unlike those in a music game. You never see anything like Until Dawn’s environmental interaction, which allowed you to pick if you wanted to run into another room, hide under a bed, or slide into the closet. Again, there isn't much to do in the environments other than walk until the game triggers a quick-time sequence.
Man of Medan isn’t the success that Until Dawn was, and it represents a big step back in terms of player interaction and storytelling, but it’s still a thrilling horror experience that made me scream, laugh, and want to jump right back in for a second or third playthrough to see if I could keep everyone alive.
Score: 7
Summary: Supermassive Games' followup to Until Dawn will make you jump out of your seat, but lacks a fun story to follow.
Concept: A choice-driven horror experience that relies too much on quick-time events, yet still delivers big fright-filled moments
Graphics: The atmosphere is legitimately creepy, and excellent cinematography and camera placement bring the scares to life. The character and environment details also impress
Sound: Appropriately eerie to the point that you will question every little “ding” or “thud” you hear
Playability: Character movement is sluggish, and the reliance on timed button presses makes you feel detached from the action. You don’t even get to run on your own
Entertainment: The uninteresting story has plenty of dull moments, but isn’t enough to kill the thrill of trying to keep all of the characters alive, especially when played with friends
Replay: Moderately High
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Hello TheRichMeister,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
TheRichMeister joined on the 08/27/2019.
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All Hey,
Leeeeeee-RSPN here (Apex Legends Director of Product Management Lee Horn, that is)! We wanted to share more context with you around the three types of events you can expect from Apex Legends including Season Launches, Collection Events, and Themed Events (the next one launching early September)! The main goal for all these events is to add new ways to play, so that we are keeping the game fresh and exciting for our players. Each of these events has a unique theme with a variety of components, but share the same general framework:
- One or more new gameplay changes such as permanent and limited-time modes (Ranked or Solos respectively), map updates and town takeovers, balance changes, new characters, new weapons, and more
- New free progression content via challenges or the free Battle Pass track
- Purchasable cosmetics via Battle Pass, Packs, and/or the Shop
The Three Event Structures will Generally Have the Following
Season Launches
At the start of every season, you can expect a major map update, a new Legend, new loot items (weapons, ordnances, etc.), meaty changes to the Legend and weapon meta and balance, updates to our Ranked mode, and potentially new features (like we introduced in Season 2 with Ranked mode).Every season will also feature the release of a brand-new Battle Pass.
Themed Events
These events will generally occur during a season and bring with them a limited-time mode, event challenges that let players earn cosmetics, and a mix of event limited and evergreen cosmetics available for direct purchase. These events may also include a town takeover or small map change, and potential extensions to Apex Legends lore. Legendary Hunt was an example of a Themed Event, with the next one coming early September focused on a certain Phase Expert.
Collection Events
Collection Events will also take place throughout the season and deliver a limited-time mode, event challenges where players earn cosmetics, and a set of event limited cosmetics available via Event-specific Apex Packs or direct purchase; it’s your choice. Like Themed Events, Collection Events may also feature a town takeover or small map change.
We received a lot of fan feedback on our recent Iron Crown Collection Event and we’re listening. We have another Collection Event planned for October and ahead of that event we will share with you how we are making changes to the event.
While these are our three main event structures, we’re also always working on new features, bug fixes, balance changes, and quality of life improvements that come out in periodic patch updates. As always, we appreciate all of your support and feedback. We hope this blog gives y’all a better sense of what to expect in a season of Apex Legends.
– Leeeeeee-RSPN
Play Apex Legends for free* now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Origin for PC.
Follow Apex Legends on Twitter and Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out our forums.
Sign up for our newsletter today to receive the latest Apex Legends news, updates, behind-the-scenes content, exclusive offers, and more (including other EA news, products, events, and promotions) by email.
These events may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible. For more information, please refer to EA’s Online Service Updates at https://www.ea.com/service-updates.
(Source)
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Publisher: Private DivisionDeveloper: Panache Digital GamesRelease: August 27, 2019Rating: TeenReviewed on: PC
I adore the notion behind Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: Follow not one individual, but an entire evolving clan of hominids as they navigate the vagaries of survival and evolution across an inconceivable stretch of prehistory. However, deep and fundamental faults riddle the experience that stems from that idea. As a simulation, it creates rare moments of discovery and reflection about the miracle of life. As a game, it collapses under the weight of history, the ambition of its own concept, and a gameplay model that offers too little reward at the cost of far too much frustration and routine.
To say that Ancestors has a “slow start” is like saying human evolution has taken “a little while.” With no perception of what to eat or safely drink, how to form rudimentary tools, or the myriad dangers of the world, early hours controlling these ape-like progenitors is rife with failure. Poisonous mushrooms, broken bones, and pure exhaustion create an endless series of condition effects that blur the screen, slow down the already glacial movement speed, or cause overwhelming audio noise that otherwise obscures play. Unexpected animal attacks are constant, and after hundreds of exchanges, those pre-scripted battles rarely end in anything one might term a success, thanks to a timing-based mechanic that remains a mystery to me after many dozens of hours. The absence of a map may be authentic to the experience of early man, but I bet those poor hominids hated getting lost just as much as I do. Gauging distance to objects is nearly impossible using the icon-based points of interest, creating a pervasive sense of disorientation.
An entire lineage can die out without careful decision-making, and a full restart is devastating, since it means having to once again burn time to re-identify every object in the world, and slowly begin the evolutionary climb again, but moving through exactly the same locations and situations as before. With no guidance about when to pass a generation or evolve to a new epoch, you’re left without any guideposts for how to succeed and a paralyzing sense of indecision, since many hours of playtime may be at stake.
Of course, those many hours help to clarify things, and open up moments of fun. Leaping off a cliff and successfully swinging through the jungle canopy can be thrilling. Finally figuring out how to fish, staunch a wound, or survive a night in the wild is an accomplishment. And every once in a while, you break out to a high vista, stare out over a sun-drenched lake, and bask in the sense of exploration.
Click here to watch embedded mediaHowever, even these moments of exaltation are fleeting, as the frustration of not knowing what to do gives way to knowing exactly what to do. The realization hits home that you face many, many hours of identifying the same plant types, having sex and childbearing (far more boring than you would think or hope), and the endless maintenance of clan members’ wellness. Sharpening that stick for the 20th time is little more than a chore. An overwhelming sense of tedium sets in.
Between the increasingly lackluster excursions of third-person action and traversal, your analysis and learning of the surroundings fuels neuronal growth and development, communicated via a fascinating but ill-explained evolution menu that governs progression. I enjoy the indication of clan development, but individual nodes are often so subtle as to not be noticeable in practice, and the need to refill nodes on subsequent generations is both confusing and feels like a time-waster. Another layer allows you to catapult forward hundreds of thousands of years, sometimes witnessing the rise of a new species, and seeing how your clan’s development compares with an approximation of science’s understanding of human evolution. It’s a neat idea, but demands an unreasonable level of patience.
I was deeply frustrated by Ancestors, so it may seem strange for me to say that I found a lot of promise, complexity, and nuance here as well. The novel concept and grand scope are far more appealing than dozens of other action or survival games on the market. This is a deeply flawed but richly imagined effort, but like many ambitious gaming projects at launch in recent years, it can now either die off like the Neanderthals, or evolve into something better from here.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
Score: 5.5
Summary: An ambitious idea ultimately falls flat, as the rewards simply don't match a continuous stream of frustration and tedium.
Concept: Confront the challenges faced by early hominids across ages of evolution as you grow a clan and explore the prehistoric world
Graphics: Janky animations and repeated preset visual sequences break the immersion, but the primates and their world are believable
Sound: A mix of classic orchestral and world-music instrumentation successfully adds emotional resonance, but individual tunes are repeated too frequently
Playability: Expressly defended as purposeful from the introduction, the figure-it-out-yourself gameplay is nonetheless off-putting and frustrating to grasp. The functionality of Ancestors’ controls and systems is obscured or poorly explained
Entertainment: Moments of beauty and distantly spaced moments of sublime discovery are separated by hours and hours of tedium and frustration
Replay: Low
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Hello nickk,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
nickk joined on the 08/26/2019.
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Publisher: Square EnixDeveloper: TechlandRelease: 2020Rating: Rating PendingPlatform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
At E3 2019, Techland showed off an extended look at its upcoming zombie apocalypse game Dying Light 2. The demo was impressive, prompting us to name it to the top 10 of our E3 2019 Hot 50, but the Polish studio has kept the gameplay sequence restricted to behind-closed-doors presentations... until now.
Taking place in The City, Dying Light 2 puts you in charge of Aiden Caldwell who is forced to make difficult decisions in order to ensure not only his own survival, but also that of those close to him and the region as a whole. In Dying Light 2, your choices help shape the narrative, as well as the world, which Techland claims is four times larger than the sandbox of the first Dying Light.
You can see the full, 28-minute gameplay demo below.
Click here to watch embedded mediaDying Light 2 is set to hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in spring 2020. For more, check out our preview from E3 2019.
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Publisher: ActivisionDeveloper: Infinity WardRelease: October 25, 2019Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward is showcasing impressive tech through a new engine that is able to deliver photorealistic character models and gorgeous scenery within gameplay. The engine has been slowly making itself apparent through Infinity Ward's recent games like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
In fact, seeing the early parts of this engine through those games was one of the main motivating factors for current studio art director Joel Emslie's return to the studio. "I looked at Remastered and I looked at Infinite Warfare and I was like, ‘Man, the production value of this game," he says. "There’s so much potential and this new engine was five years in development. Parts of that engine were alive and well in Infinite Warfare, and you could see it.”
We spoke with Michal Drobot, principal rendering engineer at Infinity Ward Poland, about the tech his team created for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Game Informer: We understand the Call of Duty series’ engine is always evolving. Can you explain what’s different here? Are things being rebuilt from scratch or is this just a big leap?
Michal Drobot: We need to go back in time, before our previous release. At that time, the Infinity Ward team realized that the engine, in its form, could not really scale further as is. New features, or systems, were resulting in cumbersome bolt-ons, and not always playing very well with the rest of the existing tech. It is not even about so called tech debt (where a development team consciously decides to sacrifice robustness in favor of performance or bug fixes under time pressure), but rather some fundamental design decisions, that served their purpose well.
I was brought on board, along with many great engineers, with a task of taking care of long-term Infinity Ward engine rendering architecture – to make sure it will be able to scale and excel in the future. It became clear quite quickly that we needed to scrap or fundamentally rewrite pretty much everything rendering related and as you can imagine, this is not something you can do quickly, while shipping a game of this franchise’s scale. Certain parts of the engine went through a full rewrite for Infinite Warfare – such as the lighting engine, while others were retrofitted to somewhat still work with new pieces. That was the moment when you could see the big leap in quality, but we had so much more to do.
The initial plan was to hit infliction point at the 5-year mark, exactly for the launch of Modern Warfare. After Infinite Warfare, we focused on re-architecture of all the other systems, essentially rewriting them from scratch, while letting the production team prototype and rely on the foundation built for our last shipped title. Then we reached critical mass, when technology could finally evolve fast. It is fantastic when you see it. You wait for years, meticulously recreating some basic things in the engine, and then suddenly at a specific point, it all starts to work together, and you jump years ahead of what you could have achieved before. It is truly a revolutionary moment for the whole team. And Modern Warfare is the first fruit of that revolution.
What’s the oldest bit of code you’ve noticed in Call of Duty’s engine prior to this game?
It is more of an anecdote, but for many years we had this one rendering system responsible for setting some low-level data variables for draw calls (singular rendering subroutines). It was extremely efficient, but somewhat risky to extend and very rigid. It actually had a comment in code, that read something like "Please rewrite this right after ship." I believe it stayed in code for way more than a single project, until finally for Modern Warfare we had to man up and rewrite it for real. Basically, the amount of data we are pumping right now into each draw call was significantly beyond that system’s capabilities. Now it is way more flexible and much faster due to working better with new engine architecture.
Will this tech also be used by all other Call of Duty studios moving into the future?
We are currently 100% focused on Modern Warfare, therefore it is a bit too soon to talk about what comes next.
It seems odd to reinvent so much of Call of Duty’s tech right before the next generation of hardware, are you confident this technology will be future-proof?
Our technology horizon is quite far ahead and ever adjusting to whatever comes next. The whole point was to rely on highly scalable technology, where algorithms, hardware insight and quality engineering comes first, as opposed to being overly reliant on specific platform features. Obviously during the optimization phase for any shipping title, we do highly focused optimizations to make sure we are taking the best approach for specific hardware, but that is the final polish pass, not the foundation. With this approach, we are very confident in our engine's ability to adapt to any future hardware.
Can you talk about the biggest challenges in shaking up Call of Duty’s tech? How difficult is it to reinvent the technology when the series never stops moving and you have a concrete ship date in mind?
I think you hit the nail on the head here. Reinventing the technology that drives Call of Duty, while making a new Call of Duty game, is the biggest challenge. It requires excellent planning, trust between departments as well as a group of extremely talented people who are not afraid to change the course when they see an obstacle ahead. I think this process of balancing out tech development and production is the biggest challenge. From my experience, I’ve seen it go sideways so many times before in my career. "You guys go out there and make a new engine. Come back in a few years and let’s ship a game." When you hear this, you know there will be a year of excitement, followed by a year of tears, and maybe even canceled projects. Technology can't evolve in isolation, without constant iteration cycles with production teams. Also, it can't be fully driven by production, because then it will end up rigid, tightly fitted to the one and only title it is supposed to ship, sometimes being not flexible enough to even elevate the project to its potential heights right before the finish line. Striking a balance here is a tough act, that requires everyone to be on board – and I truly believe we hit that mark for Modern Warfare.
Did you worry about shaking things up too much and slowing down development?
There is always a risk of slowdown due to the initial cost of progress. Therefore, it was crucial to make sure that all planning for the project content development was well understood ahead and matched different pushes on engineering. To give you an example, we would do the riskiest changes affecting art production when the project was mostly in pre-production, thus the number of affected artists was minimal. This would go hand-in-hand with Tech Art research and development to make sure all effort put into the engine will translate into better visuals and efficiency once the main production team hits the floor running. At the end of the day, what is important is the throughput of the team throughout the production years, and that was always the main focus for us.
Can you give examples of the communications you regularly have with the development team in California?
I think it would be unfair to distinguish communications as something happening "between teams." We operate as one big team, we are just spread out in terms of physical location. Obviously, there is an additional hurdle of operating in multiple time zones, but this actually works to our advantage, as the engineering team can provide almost 24/7 coverage and support. Furthermore, we have a lot of people flying back and forth between all our locations, which definitely helps in team building and guarantees everyone feels like part of the same big family.
What’s the single biggest difference players will notice about the new tech when they get their hands on the game?
I think the general bar for photorealism has been pushed really far. It is just that the scenes feel very much alive, and make a great impression as a whole picture. This drastic improvement is therefore mostly driven by material and lighting systems, so I would bet that those would get the first spotlight.
What does the new tech mean for A.I. in the game?
This is more of a question for A.I. team. However, on the pure rendering side of things, we have some very significant improvements to how A.I. actors perceive lighting in game. In short, A.I. can "see" light and shadows exactly the same way as players do. This leads to significantly more reactive A.I. as well as more emergent behaviors when dealing with light and shade situations, where visibility would play a significant role in gameplay experience. You can clearly see this when using NVG (night-vision goggles) or fighting against NVG-equipped A.I.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 25.
To learn even more about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, click on the banner below and check out our month of coverage.
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Hello lowenz,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
lowenz joined on the 08/26/2019.
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Publisher: 505 GamesDeveloper: Remedy EntertainmentRelease: August 27, 2019Rating: MatureReviewed on: Xbox OneAlso on: PlayStation 4, PC
When Jesse Faden walks into the Federal Bureau of Control and picks up the director’s handgun, she inadvertently assumes authority over the enigmatic government organization. The director’s gun is a powerful and versatile tool, but it’s also a deception; Jesse’s greatest weapon isn’t the one in her hand, it’s the one in her head. Control gives players access a host of powerful psychic abilities that are as satisfying to use as they are to watch. So Jesse has the gun, but she doesn’t need the gun. Jesse is the gun.
With games like Max Payne and Alan Wake, Remedy has always put care into telling stories through kinetic action. Control perfect fits that mold, but it especially excels in its atmosphere. Remedy delivers an eerie, dreamlike experience that is hard to shake off even after you stop playing, and I loved being transported to this bizarrely fascinating world. As you explore the shifting, brutalist architecture inside the Federal Bureau of Control, you encounter an odd cast of amusing characters and interact with several seemingly ordinary objects that hold immense power, such as a mirror that sucks you into an inverted universe or a refrigerator that hurts people when no one is looking at it.
But powerful things are also very dangerous. An aggressive, multidimensional species known as the Hiss are trying to invade our world, and like a champagne cork, the Federal Bureau of Control is the only thing preventing these creatures from spewing into our reality. As you work against the Hiss, you learn more about Jesse’s place in this world, and I enjoyed the slow reveal of her backstory. Unfortunately, the motives of the rest of the cast remain incredibly vague, which leads to a few awkward and confusing plot points. Some of these moments are papered over by the overall strangeness of the Federal Bureau of Control, but they did ultimately pull me out of an otherwise expertly crafted world.
Click here to watch embedded mediaAs mentioned previously, the director’s handgun is an incredibly powerful tool in your battle against the Hiss. This weapon can shift forms, becoming everything from a long-range sniping tool to a perfect crowd-control shotgun. Remedy’s gunplay remains as tight and precise as ever, but the director’s handgun does have one idiosyncrasy: It can’t be manually reloaded. It taps into an unlimited well of ammunition, but every time a magazine runs dry (or if you stop firing for a bit) it takes a few seconds to reload itself. It took me a while to get used to this rhythm in combat, but as Jesse acquires new abilities, managing ammo became less of an issue.
In the end, Jesse’s weapon feels like a secondary tool in combat. Her greatest means of offensive is her suite of psychic powers – especially her ability to toss objects around the room. Remedy nailed the feel of telekinesis; picking up objects with Jesse’s mind and launching them at foes packs a satisfying punch. I never grew tired of pulling chunks of cement out of the ground or snatching missiles from the air and sending them back at a group of foes. Almost every object in the environment can become a bullet, and even in the heat of battle, finding something to launch is easy. In fact, you don’t even have to target objects to pick them up. If you hold down the telekinesis button, Jesse grabs the nearest object automatically, which makes using the power effortless and intuitive.
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Jesse has a few other useful abilities in her psychic toolbelt, such as grabbing nearby junk to shield herself from frontal attacks. This shield can even be upgraded to propel debris at enemies. Another neat power is lets Jesse mind-control enemies, converting hurt foes into allies. These additional powers are fun to play with, but they pale in comparison to the telekinetic launch, and I had few reasons to return to them over and over again. Additionally, upgrading these abilities is rarely satisfying. While each new power provides a wider toolset in combat, most of the upgrades simply increase your damage output, meaning there were no new combat strategies for me to explore in the late game.
Despite a few drawn-out battles near the end, Control is a complete rush. With the power at Jesse’s fingertips, I walked into every room ready for an amazing fight. When I walked out, it often looked like a tornado and torn through the building. The Federal Bureau of Control is a fascinating place to explore, and I loved every bizarre encounter inside its creaking hallways.
Score: 8.75
Summary: Jesse’s greatest weapon isn’t the one in her hand, it’s the one in her head.
Concept: A secret government agency is being overrun by mysterious creatures from another dimension. Good thing you can move things with your mind
Graphics: Character models and animations look a bit generic, but the visual effects on display are top notch
Sound: An eerie, hyperactive soundtrack helps establish an unsettling mood
Playability: Remedy’s games have always felt good, and Control is no exception. Throwing objects around the environment never grows old.
Entertainment: Control’s intense firefights are fun, but they don’t evolve much in the second half. Fortunately, its unsettling mood and explosive moments more than balance the scales
Replay: Moderately High
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Publisher: NintendoDeveloper: Platinum GamesRelease: August 30, 2019Reviewed on: Switch
PlatinumGames has a long and successful history of making stylish-action games, and Astral Chain is one of its most accomplished and enjoyable entries to date, giving both Bayonetta and Nier: Automata a run for their money. Acrobatic combat is the beating heart of this apocalyptic tale, sending hero and monsters sailing through the air as swords swing violently and particle effects shower the battlefield. This experience also deserves props for its meaningful world building, gorgeous science-fiction visuals, and side activities that range from odd to odder (in a good way).
PlatinumGames also delivers a story with plenty of fascinating characters, but its flow is turbulent and all over the place thematically, bouncing chaotically from somber moments to slapstick comedy. As you mourn the loss of someone close to you, you may be introduced to a fairy named Bel who watches over the police department’s toilets. The tonal shifts are odd, but most of the content is fun or interesting, and you just have to divorce yourself from any given moment to let PlatinumGames take you on this strange-yet-engrossing ride through an inventive vision of the future.
Astral Chain takes place in a megacity called the Ark, a neon-lit metropolis that is thriving despite the world around it being lost. The Ark holds the last of humanity, which has been pushed to the brink of extinction by dimension-jumping aliens called Chimera. As humanity’s numbers dwindle, a new hope has just been hatched in a lab – they’ve learned how to tame the Chimera and transform them into weapons called Legion. The problem with this breakthrough: Only a few people possess the ability to harness the power of the Legion.
Two of these people just happen to be twins, and you choose which one you get to control. Interestingly, the twin you pass on plays a larger role in the narrative than your selected character, since you become a silent protagonist, and your sibling does the talking for you. Yes, this is a strange decision, and your character’s constant nodding and “uh-huhing” saps some of the heart from the narrative.
Click here to watch embedded mediaAs lengthy and beautifully animated as the cinematics are, any of your character's awkwardness melts away quickly once the action kicks in. While you won’t see any ideas quite as unconventional as a woman using her hair as a weapon, the team at PlatinumGames finds exciting ways to innovate on the battlefield, giving the player control of not just one high-flying acrobat, but two at once – your character and the Legion chained to his or her wrist.
Most games that feature dual playable characters embrace the fact that keeping tabs of two moving entities at once can be challenging, often leading to them moving in the wrong directions. You experience a little of this in Astral Chain, but since the A.I. handles the basics of combat and movement, it doesn’t mess with your head too much. Your character is more than capable to mop up enemies on his or her own with a baton, gladius, or blaster (all of which can be switched on the fly), but the heaviest hits are delivered by the Legion, and yes, the A.I. is responsible for a lot of them.
Astral Chain offers same screen cooperative play, which is functional, but more of a fun thing to try and not the ideal way to play the game
Standing back and watching the Legion pummel a beast for you may feel like cheating, but the real challenge and fun comes from creating duets with your chained companion, which requires you to simultaneously execute two orders at once. As you move your character into position for a sword combo with the left stick, you can rotate the Legion around an enemy to chain them in place, allowing both of your characters to pummel the hell out of it. If an enemy is about to charge you, you can again control the Legion manually to dash to the side to turn the chain into a trip wire that again stuns the enemy. You can also tell the Legion when to execute its special attacks.
This dual-character system works incredibly well, and is loaded with depth, especially when you unlock all five Legion, each designed to expand combat and exploration options. The Arrow Legion which opens up long-range shooting and the Beast Legion which can be used as a wolf mount. All five are a blast to control, and not just for combat. The worlds you explore are filled with obstacles that only specific Legion can interact with, as well as light navigation puzzles that, while breaking up the flow of play, are repeated too often and become motions you just have to keep going through. The Legion are basically used like Link’s items (bomb, boomerang, etc.) in the Zelda games, just not in as clever of ways.
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They also are used in a variety of side missions, which again are immersion-breaking to the point of taking on a side job to lug around boxes, or helping a man find a burger shop, but the rewards are worth the time. You can power up yourself and the Legion, and also unlock cosmetic items, like a raven that oddly sits on your head.
I had a blast playing Astral Chain and didn’t want it to end. Platinum has created a wonderful new universe for players to dive into that I could see extending into anime, movies, and hopefully sequels. The dual-character gameplay is also brilliantly devised, and although not as difficult as PlatinumGames’ other titles, creates a duet that makes you feel like a powerful, unstoppable force. The story may be the weakest part of the experience, given just how much it changes trajectory, but it has some legitimately great moments, and a big twist I didn't see coming. All told, this is one hell of a game.
Score: 9
Summary: PlatinumGames delivers another must-play stylish-action game, this time for Switch.
Concept: Control two characters simultaneously in this science-fiction brawler that delivers fun combat and exploration, but is a narrative mess
Graphics: The futuristic cityscape is beautifully realized, offset nicely by the red glow of the alien dimension. PlatinumGames knocks the animations out of the park
Sound: The silent protagonist doesn’t work well here, and some of the side players’ voices are too much. I love how the music switches from tranquil melodies to roaring heavy metal when combat erupts
Playability: PlatinumGames does a nice job limiting the awkwardness that usually comes with dual-character support through smartly designed controls and A.I. assistance
Entertainment: Astral Chain is fun from start to finish, and gives the player plenty to chew on in terms of side missions and post-game content
Replay: Moderately High
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Astral Chain offers same screen cooperative play, which is functional, but more of a fun thing to try and not the ideal way to play the game
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