Author: trafficblast

In Star Wars Battlefront 2, check out a full match of the mode Strike, on the new map Kashyyyk. Star Wars Battlefront 2 comes out on November 17th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

On the map Kamino in Star Wars Battlefront 2, check out nimble killstreaks with the Arc-170, Millennium Falcon and Poe’s Resistance X-Wing. Star Wars Battlefront 2 comes out on November 17th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Here are six more maps we’ve tested out in Star Wars Battlefront 2 including Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor.

It’s going to be quite a while before we see a new PlayStation or Xbox console, according to Assassin’s Creed Origins and Rainbow Six Siege publisher Ubisoft. In an investors’ call, CEO Yves Guillemot stated the company believes the next major consoles are “a minimum of two years” away.

“As Sony launched PlayStation 4 Pro last year and Microsoft Xbox One X this year, we think we still have a minimum of two years in front of us before something new is coming,” Guillemot stated. “But that’s our perception, we don’t have any confidential information on that front.”

Guillemot went on to say he likes that Sony and Microsoft are updating their platforms with iterative new consoles in the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, and he believes the new devices will aid the industry.

“We really like the fact that Sony and Microsoft are really putting more power in their machines, using the evolution of technology to give power to our developers to create better games for our players,” he said. “That is going in the right direction rather than trying to do accessories or other things. That is going to help the industry a lot because the games will be really beautiful on those machines.”

Elsewhere in the call, Ubisoft revealed that Assassin’s Creed Origins has sold double the number of copies as its predecessor, Syndicate, so far. The company also said single-player games still have a future, despite many of the publisher’s games–For Honor, Rainbow Six Siege, and The Division, to name a few–being long-lasting multiplayer games that are continually updated.

Xbox One X launched on November 7. It’s had a positive critical reception so far; check out our thoughts in our Xbox One X review. For more, be sure to watch our Xbox One X vs PC vs Xbox One graphics comparison, or take a look at everything you need to know about the Xbox One X.

Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced the “next Hitman game” is currently in development. The new game doesn’t yet have a name and we know nothing more about it, but this is the first we’ve heard of a new entry in the series since IO went independent from Square Enix after fears the studio and franchise would be shut down.

In a blog post about the newly released Hitman – Game of the Year Edition, IO CEO Hakan Abrak mentioned a new game in the series is on the way: “One last thing about our next Hitman game; I want to let you know that we’re making great progress and we have exciting new features and some franchise firsts, which we can’t wait to tell you all about. You’ll have to wait a little longer as we don’t plan to start talking about that until some point in 2018.”

It’s unclear what the announcement of the “next Hitman game” means for the 2016 reboot, Hitman. IO stated last year that the episodic game was simply Season 1 of a three season plan (and it refers to “Season 1” again in this blog post); it also released a physical version of the game called Hitman: The Complete First Season at the start of this year. Although the new Game of the Year Edition includes some new content, it is not a full second or third season and there is no news on whether those are still coming. GameSpot has contacted IO for comment.

Elsewhere in the post, Abrak says Hitman has now passed 7 million players–though it’s unclear if that includes players who’ve simply downloaded the now-free-of-charge first portion of the game.

In other Hitman news, the game’s Xbox One X enhancement update is now available for download. It includes options for native 4K and higher frame rate for Xbox One X users and a redesigned UI and more features for all players. For more on Microsoft’s new console, check out our Xbox One X review or our list of all the Xbox One X enhanced games.

The new ToeJam & Earl game, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove, is not going to come out on time. A Kickstarter statement from series creator Greg Johnson confirms that the game is not going to be released until 2018.

Johnson said developer HumaNature “tried super hard” to have the game ready to launch this year as scheduled. But it’s not going to happen, in part because “game development is an inexact science,” Johnson said. Fans may be happy to hear that Johnson and his team are working hard to put a game worth of the Toe Jam & Earl name.

“It’s our priority to deliver the best, most solid game we can,” Johnson said. “To get the game across the finish line we need to push into 2018, but rest assured we are working our butts off and you guys are going to get an awesome game.”

“Thanks for the continued support and keeping the faith! We’re working so hard over here and will have additional updates over the coming weeks and months.”

A new trailer for Back in the Groove was released today, and it’s pretty funny. An “overly cinematic trailer,” the video sets up the game’s absurd story with some wonderful, over-the-top narration. It also doesn’t shy away from the fact that the game has been delayed.

Back in the Groove was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2015, when people donated more than $500,000 to make it happen. The fan-funded game is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, and Mac. Back in the Groove is being published by Adult Swim Games, a division of the TV network.

The original ToeJam & Earl was released for the Sega Genesis back in 1991. This was followed up by a 1993 platforming sequel called Panic in Funkotron, and then ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth in 2002.

Veterans and New Recruits

For many players, the multiplayer mode of the yearly edition of Call of Duty is a major event. But fans of the series are facing down a lot of changes with the latest entry into the franchise, Call of Duty: WWII, which switches out the science fiction-inspired, near-future warfare of more recent Call of Duty games for a return to the series’ roots in World War II.

Key multiplayer elements, like how to develop your weapon and ability loadouts, are different in Call of Duty: WWII, and the game also offers some unique challenges with its new “War” game mode. Here’s everything you need to know as a new Call of Duty: WWII player to get your boots on the ground and help you win your war.

Call of Duty: WWII is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For our thoughts about the game, check out our Call of Dutty: WWII review. You can also see what other critics are saying about the WWII shooter in our review roundup. And For more on Sledgehammer’s huge title, check out our guide on how to get the Tesla Gun in Zombies Mode or take a look at the quest that rewards you for watching other players open loot boxes.

The Key To Your Loadout: Divisions

Past Call of Duty games allowed players to build their own multiplayer “loadouts” of weapons, scorestreaks and perks to customize how their characters played. There’s a system like that in Call of Duty: WWII as well, but it’s a bit confusing even for veteran players. Instead of classes to choose from that define your character’s capabilities and focus, you build your loadout starting with one of five “Divisions.” Each one has bonuses that enhance a certain play style and weapon choice, like providing faster sprint speeds or more ammo.

Divisions provide you with bonuses that can match your play style, and you can switch between them in-match like previous Call of Duty loadouts. You can also level them up to access even better bonuses over time. Unlock all the Divisions as early as you can so you can get a sense of all of them and start leveling the ones that match your play style.

Basic Training Is Your Perk

The other new element of your loadout is “Basic Training.” These are basically the “Perks” of old Call of Duty games, usually conveying you with a slight tactical advantage, like being able to see enemies your teammates have damaged or keeping you hidden on other players’ minimaps.

You’ll unlock additional Basic Trainings as you level up, and the early ones are kind of useless, so keep an eye on them for new ones. A few are pretty useful–Rifleman, for instance, lets you carry two primary weapons into battle, while Instinct can let you know when an enemy you can’t see is targeting you. Finding the right Basic Training for your play style can give you a serious advantage, so try as many as you can.

Don’t Sleep On Attachments

Call of Duty: WWII has a handy system that makes it really easy to judge how a weapon will work. Each gun has a number of different ratings, like damage dealt and effective range, with a number between 1 and 10 to tell you how strong each of those stats are. That feeds into an overall number to tell you how good the gun is in battle. But you can increase those stats significantly with attachments.

Once you’ve found a gun you like, using it in fights unlocks attachments you can add to increase and decrease its stats. They unlock pretty fast and are very effective in making a so-so gun into your favorite weapon. Like other Call of Duty games, you’ll unlock new sights and grips that can increase range and reduce recoil. In the aftermath of battle, make sure you take time to check out any new ones you unlock and add the ones you like to your weapons. They can make you much more effective.

Drop By The Headquarters

Like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, WWII adds a new space you can hang around in when you’re not in a multiplayer battle, called the Headquarters. It’s a “social space” where you’ll see other players, but mostly it’s just a more interesting menu for accessing some of the less-used features of Call of Duty: WWII multiplayer.

But you do want to stop by the Headquarters at least once every time you fire up the game. For one, you’ll get your “Payroll” every few hours, which gives you in-game currency to purchase cosmetic stuff for your guns. You can also pick up “Orders,” which are daily and weekly challenges that can earn you loot boxes. You’ll want a fresh crop of orders every day so you can make sure you’re earning everything you can as you play.

Practice Scorestreaks (And Learn To Avoid Them)

One handy spot in the Headquarters that’s not immediately obvious is the Scorestreak Training tower. You’ll find it close to the beachhead. Head there and you can trigger a gameplay scenario in which you stand above the battlefield, watching computer-controlled troops battle each other while you call down any of the game’s scorestreaks on top of them.

Scorestreaks, Call of Duty players will remember, are bonus abilities unlocked when you earn enough points in a given life. They include calling in a recon plane to reveal enemy positions or dropping bombs on certain parts of the map. You can try all of them in the training tower, which will help you be prepared to use them in the field. But more importantly when you’re first starting out, you can use the training tower to see what high-level scorestreaks can do, even if they’ve never been used on you before. You can bet that when you get onto the battlefield, there will be people facing off with you who play a lot. Avoid getting blindsided with scorestreaks you haven’t unlocked or used by testing them out, so you can learn exactly how to avoid letting them kill you.

Take A Team To War

The big new multiplayer mode in Call of Duty: WWII is “War,” a multi-stage objective based battle in which one team attacks, trying to complete objectives, and the other team defends those objectives. The mode is the most interesting addition to the game, and requires a lot of coordination between players and, often, some strategic thinking as well as shooter skills.

War is less about killing and more about working together to accomplish goals, though. You can play it in quick match like any other game mode, but it’s best enjoyed with a team. War is the game mode in which you want to grab a gaming headset and some friends so you can coordinate your efforts, and if you play alone, you won’t be enjoying the mode to its full potential. If you find the other players insufferable, you can pull up the roster and quickly silence everybody with a handy “Mute All” button.

Learn Multiple Roles

This is just good advice for shooters like Call of Duty, where different weapons and classes are useful in specific situations, but you’ll especially need to do it if you mean to play a lot of War. As you work through the mode, you’ll find yourself going from fights in tight trenches and bunkers to long-range battles defending positions or escorting tanks. The different Divisions, Basic Trainings and guns available in WWII make it possible to create loadouts that are great for some of those situations and terrible for others, so you’ll need to be flexible.

In War, it’s not enough to just be good with a M1 Garand or a submachine gun–you’ll want to be good with both. On the Normandy map, for instance, getting off the beach can be made easier if you’re a solid sniper, but as soon as you’re out of the water, you need to climb into a pair of narrow bunkers and other players up close. If you can’t handle both parts of the battle, you’ll have a tough time. Spend some time with every Division and different types of guns, and pay attention to where on each War map you’ll want to switch your role to be most lethal, and most helpful to your teammates.

Take Multiplayer Slower

Call of Duty fans coming off Infinite Warfare are going to find an adjustment period in switching to WWII. It’s not just losing the movement-enhancing jetpack from the last few games–movement has been tweaked a bit in WWII and it’s going to take a little while to get used to the new reality.

For one thing, the time between the end of a sprint and being able to use your gun is probably a touch longer than players remember. You can also get perks to increase your sprint speed and duration, but right out of the gate it’s pretty short. In general, it’s a better idea to avoid sprinting in multiplayer. It leaves you extremely vulnerable, and on Call of Duty: WWII’s fairly tight, twisty maps, you’re going to want your gun out for those moments when you round a corner and find an enemy you didn’t expect. Slow down and take your time and you’re likely to suffer fewer deaths.

Listen To Your Teammates

You’ll notice in multiplayer matches that, even with other players muted, there’s still a ton of talking going on in matches. That’s because all the player characters in every multiplayer match are still very vocal, calling out their situations. Some of their barks are just to create that WWII atmosphere, but others are really useful if you’re paying attention.

Listen for your teammates’ characters to call out what they see, specifically enemy positions. They’re usually pretty descriptive, telling you players are coming out of tunnels or hiding behind trucks and ammo boxes. Use that information to your advantage whenever you can.

Loot Boxes Drop Special “Epic” Weapons

You can mostly ignore most of Call of Duty: WWII’s loot box system if you want to, as the boxes you’ll earn mostly dish out cosmetic rewards like Calling Cards and emotes. But every once in awhile, you’ll receive a special weapon of the “Epic” or “Legendary” variety, and to those you’ll want to pay attention.

Epic and Legendary weapon are mostly just different takes on your regular weapons, but with some nice bonuses. They’ll let you earn experience points faster for your character or Division, which means you can more quickly unlock new perks and guns. You don’t need to pay attention to loot boxes or find Epic and Legendary weapons to be good at multiplayer, but they can give you a leg up in advancing through your character progression.