PUBG Dev Confirms More Loot Boxes, Says It Wasn’t Prepared For All The Cheating

PUBG currently allows players to spend extra money on loot boxes that contain cosmetic items. More microtransaction options are coming to PUBG in time, but they will never contain items that affect gameplay, according to Bluehole CEO Changhan Kim and lead designer Junhyuk Choi. During a Q&A at the G-Star event recently, the pair confirmed, “We will never add anything [through loot boxes] that affects the gameplay.”

According to a translation posted by Bluehole, they also acknowledged that PUBG is seeing “relatively strong demand” for cosmetic items. You can expect Bluehole to add more over time, but not until after the 1.0 release later this month. It remains to be seen what these cosmetic items will be; some of the existing ones include outfits and other player-customization options.

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Also during the event, Kim and Choi talked about the efforts underway to combat cheating in PUBG. They started off by apologizing for “the inconvenience caused by the cheaters,” going on to admit that Bluehole “has not been well prepared to deal with this issue,” in part because of the game’s Early Access state.

“The number of different cheats we have encountered has far surpassed our expectations,” they said. “We are aggressively addressing this issue as it is our top priority. There is a new team dedicated to this task, which has already demonstrated great results through tighter and improved policies as well as around-the-clock monitoring.”

The developers added that it is an “endless fight” to combat cheating in PUBG, so you can expect the studio to continue addressing the issue over time.

Additionally, Kim and Choi addressed the community’s requests for a tutorial mode or shooting range in PUBG to help with the onboarding experience. They were initially against the idea because they thought, “There is no practice in life!” But they have since changed their minds and confirmed that Bluehole will start thinking of a plan for a tutorial mode, but not until after the 1.0 release later this month.

In other news, the first live gameplay demonstration for PUBG’s new desert map will happen during The Game Awards this Thursday, December 7. This map will also come with a new vehicle–this rad-looking truck. PUBG is expected to leave Early Access on PC by the end of the year, while the Xbox One edition will launch through the Game Preview program on December 12.

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Doom VFR Review

It’s one thing to step into 2016’s Doom and witness its version of hell in all its modern, HD glory. It’s another thing entirely to step out of a portal in the new Doom VFR and suddenly find yourself inescapably surrounded by fire and death. Hell has been made more harrowing and real than ever before, and Doom VFR leverages this to present a new tale. But a big issue is that compared to last year’s hit, Doom VFR is more conservative with its action, stingier with the bloody, brutal joys that were part and parcel of Doom’s successful return to the stage.

Doom VFR is a pseudo-sequel set one year after the events of the last game, where a milquetoast UAC employee, Adams, finds himself knocked out after a face-to-face encounter with a demon after a portal to Hell opens. When he wakes up, he’s to a virtual reality rig, allowing him to pilot a holographic representation of his body around the facility to try and shut the portal to Hell for good. Right off the bat, the priorities are different than before. Adams is a generic cypher whose voice is present only to tell us what piece of expensive tech is broken in the Mars facility and how to fix it. That meticulous fawning over UAC equipment is the kind of legwork that the Doomslayer–the series’ faceless Marine protagonist–never had a whole lot of time for. The guy who cocked his shotgun to the chugging beat of his own theme song has been replaced by a guy who’s essentially reading a UAC instruction manual at the beginning of each stage, robbing the game of its familiar brutal charm.

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Thankfully, when it’s demon killing time, Adams knows to shut his mouth and let the guns and Mick Gordon’s metal soundtrack do the talking. There’re three ways to play on PSVR: with a DualShock 4, with two Playstation Move controllers, or with the gun-shaped Aim controller. The Dualshock 4 handles like the non-VR Doom, just with a Teleport button, which has become the standard mode of movement in VR shooters. There’s also a new Shield Burst ability, a crowd-control function allowing you to repulse all enemies halfway across the room with an overloaded electrical shield. The Dualshock 4 is certainly functional for the game, but it’s also the least immersive option available.

Playing with Move controllers fares the worst. Aiming with the right controller feels natural, but actual movement is handled by a quick dash function using the left controller’s buttons as directional inputs, which leaves absolutely zero room for the kind of precision you need to survive.

The Aim controller is the ideal. It’s not perfect either–for some reason, the PSVR’s camera tracking on the Aim seems to drift more than normal, which is a problem if you’re trying to use one of the larger weapons, like the Gauss Cannon–but it is by far the most gratifying way to play, using the same mix of movement controls as the DualShock 4 but with a prop in your hand that feels more inline with your actions. White knuckle clutching a physical rifle while the forces of Hell charge ahead puts you into the right mode to slay demons, and feels exactly like the kind of experience the Aim was made for.

For the most part, shooting your way through Hell’s armies feels just as brutal as it does in the 2016 game. Demons explode into bloody, fleshy messes. Arenas are wide open, encouraging constant awareness of your surroundings, something made much more efficient with the Teleport function. The entirety of the enemy roster returns here, from the nimble, annoying Imps to the towering Barons, but VR put them right in your face, making the physical act of pulling the trigger point blank all the more satisfying. The big missing element here is the Glory Kill system, where hitting the melee button on a blinking enemy let you demolish them with a quick, gruesome fatality. The replacement in Doom VFR is the ability to teleport into a blinking enemy and explode them from the inside. It mechanically gets the job done, but it’s less impactful than it sounds, and pales in comparison to tearing enemies limb from limb.

Perhaps the ultimate complaint is that for a game that’s so good at delivering fast-paced combat, it’s strangely shy about letting you do so for extended periods of time. The campaign itself is only about 4 hours long, minus extra time spent exploring for collectibles and power-ups, with only the added bonus of playing some old-school Doom maps in VR–admittedly, a ridiculously fun, nostalgic bonus–to pad things out. Much of your time in the game is spent wandering the UAC facility, waiting for the chance to unleash wrath on Hell’s inner circle. When you do, it can feel great, but Doom VFR feels like a game unsure of whether that’s the case. The result is a game that feels tentative about its own considerable power.

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Google Reportedly Pulling YouTube From Amazon FireTV

It looks like Google will be removing the YouTube app again from Amazon’s Echo Show and FireTV devices.

TechCrunch reports the move is due to an ongoing conflict between the two companies, which led to Google removing YouTube from the Alexa-powered Echo Show earlier this year when the app lacked expected features.

The YouTube app was reinstated a few weeks ago, but sources tell TechCrunch this was an act Amazon worked on behind Google’s back. The new app also overlays voice controls, which Google says violates the company’s Terms of Service.

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Monster Hunter World PS4 Beta Size, More Details Revealed

Monster Hunter World is one of the first major releases of 2018, arriving for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at the end of January (with a PC release following later). However, PS4 players won’t have to wait until then for a chance to try the game. As Capcom announced during Sony’s Paris Game Week conference, a Monster Hunter World PS4 beta will take place this weekend, and now the publisher has shared exactly when it will begin and what it entails.

The beta kicks off this Saturday, December 9, at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT and runs until the same time on Tuesday, December 12. As is typically the case, you’ll need a PS Plus subscription in order to participate in the beta, as well as 5.9 GB of space available on your console to download it.

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The beta features three quests across two environments: the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Waste. In the Ancient Forest, players will be able to hunt the Great Jagras and the Anjanath, while Wildspire Waste is home to the rock-headed Barroth. You can watch us footage of us successfully hunting the latter from Tokyo Game Show.

Each quest can be completed either solo or with up to three other players. You’ll also be able to choose from all 14 different weapon types, which you can test out in the Training Room. Additionally, Capcom says players who complete each mission in the beta will earn “some useful bonus items” in the full title when it releases next month.

You can read more about the Monster Hunter World PS4 beta on Capcom’s blog. The game launches for PS4 and Xbox One on January 26; Capcom still hasn’t announced a release date for the PC version. The PS4 version will receive at least one exclusive DLC weapon set based on Horizon Zero Dawn.

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Destiny 2: Curse Of Osiris – New Exotic Sparrows, Ships, Emotes, Weapon Ornaments, And More

Destiny 2‘s first expansion, Curse of Osiris, is now available and brings with it all sorts of new playable content on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. There’s a new planet with story missions, Strikes, and a Public Event, Crucible maps, and more. But in addition to acquiring new Curse of Osiris weapons and gear, there’s also a variety of cosmetics to get your hands on.

The release of Curse of Osiris and update 1.1.0 marks the start of Season 2 for Destiny 2. Among other things, this has brought a refresh to the Eververse store and Bright Engrams, meaning there are tons of new cosmetics to acquire. Ghost Shells, Sparrows, ships, emotes, weapon ornaments, and more have provided ways to deck out your Guardian with a stylish new look. In the gallery above, we’ve compiled a selection of Exotic gear you can now find in-game. There’s plenty more than what you’ll see here, including numerous Legendary items and other things that we just haven’t seen yet.

There are still more changes on the way to Destiny 2 in the near future. The aforementioned update 1.1.0 made some major balance changes to the game, but further revamps are coming soon as part of a second big December update. The next patch will add Masterworks weapons and new ways to acquire Faction armor and weapons.

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The Division’s Biggest-Ever Free Update Out Now; Free Weekend Coming Up

As part of its ongoing support for The Division, Ubisoft today launched the game’s biggest free update ever, while the company also announced sales and promotions around the multiplayer shooter. Starting with the update, 1.8 AKA “Resistance” is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It adds a new area to the map, West Side Pier, which includes new activities such as the Resistance and Skirmish modes.

Resistance is a PvE mode in which the enemy factions team up (they have never done that before) to collectively fight against players in what sounds like a Horde-style, wave-based mode. In teams of four, your objective is simply to stay alive as long as possible. When killed, enemies provide resources that you can use to firm up your defenses and more.

As for Skirmish, this is a straightforward-sounding PvP mode where two teams of four players fight for the most kills until time expires. The Resistance update also introduces a new social hub called Camp Clinton, which will function similar to the main safe house, the Terminal. There is also new gear to buy and exotic weapons to acquire, as well as lots and lots of balance changes; you can see the full patch notes here.

Additionally, The Division’s three expansions–Underground, Survival, and Last Stand–are playable free now through December 10. If you haven’t played The Division at all, the full game is available to play for free this weekend, running December 7-10. The current free trial for The Division, which lets you play for six hours, is going on hiatus until the free weekend ends. All progress carries forward from the free weekend if you decide to buy. Finally, The Division’s standard and Gold editions are discounted right now through Ubisoft’s online store.

The Division launched in March 2016, starting strong but then seeing its player base fall off as updates and new content slowed. Things picked back up again, and the number of daily active users rose by 150 percent. The game has more than 9.5 million users, though that figure is only accurate as of May 2016. The figure is no doubt higher now and it will grow further still after this upcoming free weekend.

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Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 3 Release Date Announced

The third and final episode of prequel series Life is Strange: Before the Storm, “Hell is Empty,” will be available on December 20 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Square Enix released a teaser trailer (below) for the final episode ahead of the full trailer tomorrow, which is dropping at 9:30 a.m. PT/ 12:30 p.m. ET. “Hell is Empty” will conclude this prequel story to the original Life is Strange focusing on Chloe’s relationship with her best friend Rachel Amber.

While you wait for “Hell is Empty,” be sure to read IGN’s review of the first episode “Awake” and a review for the second episode “Brave New World,” which IGN said made us care about its characters but not the “drawn-out puzzles.”

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