It seems there are more changes to come to Star Wars: Battlefront 2’s controversial progression system, with the game’s associate design director Dennis Brannvall vowing, “we will fix this”.
As part of a Reddit AMA yesterday, three DICE developers answered a selection of reader comments about he much-discussed new shooter. While all three mostly skirted direct questions about the game’s loot boxes – particularly accusations of a “pay-to-win” focus – Brannvall’s closing comments did go some way towards assuring players that changes could come.
There’s an awful lot going on in this series right now, with three different Thors battling insurmountable odds while war rages across the Ten Realms. It says a lot that even the arrival of Mangog feels like a drop in the bucket at this point. That’s not to say this issue comes up lacking in terms of drama or scale. Quite the opposite, as Jason Aaron and James Harren offering a harrowing depiction of the battle between the war Thor and Mangog, one that illustrates just how dire things have become for the gods of Asgardia.
Aaron and Harren keep the focus squarely on those two combatants in this relatively standalone chapter. Despite where we left him in issue #700, Volstagg still has some fight left, though even his boundless rage seems like small potatoes next to a being fueled by a billion, billion vengeful souls. This issue does a great job of delving into the history of Mangog while never taking its eyes off the brutal, epic confrontation between god and cosmic beast. That balance is accomplished through the use of an unseen narrator who reflects on the nature of Mangog and what his return means for the Marvel Universe.
Following last week’s promotional images for the upcoming Deadpool 2, we have a new teaser. In keeping with the theme of the Thanksgiving poster and magazine cover, this isn’t a standard teaser, but it does briefly provide a first look at some footage from the movie.
The bulk of the teaser features Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) perfoming an art class in the style of Bob Ross, the much-loved TV artist who hosted The Joy of Painting on PBSthroughout the ’80s and ’90. Deadpool’s take is, of course, somewhat more foul-mouthed, but keep watching for some blistering action from the movie itself. Check it out above.
An official synopsis has also been released by Sony. This almost certainly isn’t actually the plot, but just in case, here it is: “After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor–finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.
Who doesn’t want to see that? Deadpool 2 hits theaters on June 1, 2018.
Bethesda’s RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launches this week on Nintendo Switch. One of its cool features is that classic Zelda items such as the Master Sword, the Hylian Shield, and Link’s Champion’s Tunic are all in the game, if you have the right Amiibo.
You can tap Zelda Amiibo figures once per day for a chance to get those items. We got our hands on all of them, and you can see them in action in the video above.
The list of compatible Zelda Amiibo figures covers all the major ones, including Smash Bros. series Link, Breath of the Wild Link, Ocarina of Time Link, and many more. Sheik, Revali, and Ganondorf are also among the compatible figures. You can see a full rundown of support Amiibo figures here on Nintendo’s website.
Skyrim for Switch also supports non-Zelda Amiibo figures. You won’t get the Zelda gear, but tapping them on your console gets you a loot chest, so that’s something, and it’s even better if you’re an Amiibo collector. Skyrim for Switch comes with the base game and its three expansions: Dragonborn, Dawnguard, and Hearthfire. It can be played with motion controls, allowing you to swing weapons, pick locks, or aim your bow with the Joy-Cons.
Skyrim was first released in 2011 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, before coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2016 through the Special Edition. A version of the game for the PS4’s PlayStation VR also launched today, November 17,
Six years after its release, Skyrim still manages to be relevant. Between the 2016 remaster, the upcoming VR version, and now a Switch port, it’s hard to forget about The Elder Scrolls V, and that’s a testament to how absorbing an RPG it is. With the addition of instant portability on Switch, it’s even harder to put this high quality port down.
Skyrim is one of the best Switch ports currently available, though it’s not too surprising considering the game’s age. It runs smoothly with a rock-solid frame rate both in smaller spaces and in the overworld. Text can be a little small when playing in handheld mode, though it still performs and plays as well as it does docked and with a Pro Controller. The newly introduced motion controls are all optional as well; wagging a Joy-Con will swing melee weapons, and you can use motion to fine-tune your aim with your bow. Skyrim does retain the glitches it has always been known (and loved) for, though, including bizarre NPC pathing problems. In our 10 hours testing the game, we didn’t find any new bugs, so it’s just the silly weirdness you might remember.
The main addition on Switch is Amiibo compatibility, which nets you extra treasure and works well within the existing game. Amiibo use is nested in the magic menu under powers, and you have to cast it the way you would any other power before tapping the Amiibo to the NFC reader. Like in Breath of the Wild, using an Amiibo isn’t a guarantee of good loot–in this case, Zelda Amiibo give you a chance to get Link’s Breath of the Wild tunic, the Master Sword, and the Hylian Shield, though you might get a chest filled with arrows, random weapons and armor, or an assortment of meats instead. You can use each Amiibo once per day, but we were able to get all the cool gear in one day using a few Zelda Amiibo around the office. As a bonus, the gear is better than any of the early-game weapons and armor you can get, and you can easily sell off the other loot you don’t want.
The quality of the port aside, Skyrim has certainly aged since it first released in 2011. On top of the jankiness of movement and NPC interaction, there are a few outdated things that might be hard to contend with. Most glaringly, the oft-maligned sword-and-shield combat is still underwhelming, since it never felt great to clumsily swing a sword around to begin with. Certain recurring dialogue that has ascended to meme status can be grating, too, provided you’ve heard it enough. There’s also no mod support currently, so if you’re used to the user-created quality-of-life mods available on PC and other console versions, it can be weird to go back to regular old Skyrim, even if you still find its quirks and more old-fashioned aspects charming.
Skyrim is one of the best Switch ports currently available.
But everything great about Skyrim is preserved here as well. Pursue whatever it is you want to–whether it’s just completing the main story or stealing as much cheese as you can carry–and you’re all but guaranteed to find interesting stories along the way. Progressing through its still very deep skill tree is a huge but satisfying endeavor in figuring out exactly how you want to play (though magic- and archery-based combat specializations are preferable). There’s so much to do in Skyrim that it’s likely you haven’t done it all yet, and because it’s now portable, you can pick it up and play for shorter bursts that can easily turn into hours.
The original version of Skyrim is still an immense, engrossing RPG, and the quality, number, and variety of its quests makes it as easy to become lost in its world as ever. With the addition of Zelda-themed gear that’s actually useful–and the fact that you can play anywhere–the Switch version of Skyrim is a great excuse to revisit a much-loved RPG.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the greatest and most famous RPGs ever created. It’s a game filled with a seemingly limitless amount of possibilities. When it comes to Skyrim on Switch, the big question left for most people is: how well does one of the biggest RPGs ever created play on Nintendo’s hybrid console? The answer is that it holds up, but doesn’t introduce enough new content or features to really draw in returning adventurers.
The Switch version includes the Dragonborn, Hearthfire, and Dawnguard DLC packs, and visually falls somewhere between last year’s Special Edition and the original console release. It’s noticeable in the detail of foliage, water shaders, and generally sharper textures. However, enhancements such as ambient occlusion, volumetric lighting, and dynamic depth of field are noticeably missing when you compare it to the versions on other consoles.
As promised, Electronic Arts held a Reddit AMA today where some developers from Star Wars: Battlefront II developer DICE answered questions about the controversial shooter. Executive producer John Wasilczyk, associate design director Dennis Brannvall, and producer Paul Keslin all participated, spending time responding to questions and general feedback about the time to unlock heroes, microtransactions, and lots more.
Brannvall said DICE was “incredibly saddened” by the negative response to Battlefront II’s community on Reddit. “In fact, we hated it, we truly did,” he explained. “Because we want to make a game that you love.”
The developer added that DICE believes it made a “really cool, fun, and beautiful game,” and on those merits, many might agree. But as GameSpot and others said in their critiques, the game’s progression system has its issues.
“We’ve made a really cool, fun, and beautiful game but it was overshadowed by issues with the progression system. We will fix this,” Brannvall promised. He added that DICE will share more details about specific changes in the future.
You can read the full Reddit AMA right here. Some of the notable takeaways, as rounded up by BattlefrontModTeam, include the negative reaction to the crate system. On this subject, Wasilczyk said, “I think this concern has come through loud and clear.” He added that DICE plans to continue to adjust the crate system, content, and progression mechanics so that it gets to a point where players have a “great, balanced experience at all skill levels.”
Wasilczyk added that DICE is looking to expand the options players have to progress, with the overall aim of “putting more control in their hands and providing more options and choice in the way people play. There’s not much in the game that we wouldn’t revisit to improve the game for as many players as possible.”
Also in the Reddit AMA, Brannvall talked about how DICE wants to keep the Battlefront II multiplayer experience fair and balanced. At the end of the day, your effectiveness will come down to skill, but DICE’s matchmaking system aims to put players of similar skill levels together.
“You should not ever be matchmade together with players who are much better than you are,” he said. “Ultimately your effectiveness is going to come down to skill, not the Star Cards that you have. If it doesn’t feel that way, we’ll see it on our side, too. Our data will tell that story and we’ll make adjustments. We’re looking at results from millions of matches and will be continuously rebalancing items, unlocks, and matchmaking to create a fair, fun experience for all of our players. Beyond that, all Star Cards have maximum values regardless of how they are unlocked.”
Another topic that came up during the Battlefront 2 AMA was that of the credit cap for the game’s Arcade mode. Keslin, Battlefront 2’s producer, said this cap was put in place because otherwise, players could use the Arcade mode as a means to grind for credits, which they could then in turn use for multiplayer to potentially gain an advantage. As with Battlefront 2’s other elements, Keslin promised that DICE will continually look at data and “make adjustments to make things as balanced as possible.”
