Gears 5 Escape has been our first chance to get a look at some of the game’s newest weapons, character abilities, and enemies. While there will surely be more surprises in store for us in the campaign, versus, and Horde, here are the new features we’ve found so far.
Character Abilities
The characters you use in Escape and Horde are called Hero Characters. Each of these characters is equipped with a passive and ultimate ability. We only know about the following three characters who have a unique connection to Escape, but The Coalition said more will be added to Escape. We have yet to see who will be playable in Horde.
The new Avengers game from Crystal Dynamics has been likened to Bungie’s Destiny in that you’ll be able to team up, online to complete missions with other players. But that is only an option. Crystal Dynamics boss Scott Amos confirmed in an interview that the game is playable offline.
“We want somebody to be able to go buy a disc and never have to go online,” he explained to GI.biz. “You don’t have to. You can have a complete experience and have fun.”
For those who do want to play online, Square Enix is promising a robust, ongoing, and evolving experience with new characters and locations added over time–and for free.
“The idea, from the beginning, is that we want you to be able to customise your hero; how they look, how they play, the gear they have and how they use it,” Amos said. “Your Black Widow could be different to my Black Widow–just a little, maybe a lot depending on what you favour and how you unlock things.”
The Avengers game will make extra money beyond the upfront cost through various microtransactions for cosmetic items. There are no loot boxes or pay-to-win mechanics, and Amos promises, “No gameplay paywalls.”
“We want people to be able to play together and go on this journey, but we also want to say if you want to over-invest in your characters and customise them, you’ve got it,” Amos said. “We also have ways for you to earn a lot of those things. We want to give players as much flexibility as possible because it’s for them. We make this for the fans. At the end of the day, we will listen to them and get feedback from them and we’ll adjust everything to serve that need… We want to reward them for the hours they’re investing in our game.”
The new Avengers game launches in May 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, while it’s also coming to Google Stadia. The game features a number of iconic MCU heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and the Hulk, but the game doesn’t use the likenesses of MCU actors. Some people were not happy about the new character designs, but Crystal Dynamics won’t change them.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite appears to be yet another success for developer Niantic Labs. According to data from research company SensorTower, the free-to-play mobile game pulled in a healthy $300,000 across iOS and Google Play over its first 24 hours of availability last week. And that number only counts revenue in the United States and United Kingdom.
According to the report, Wizards Unite also reached 400,000 installs after its first day.
Wizards Unite is nowhere near as popular or profitable as Niantic’s previous release, Pokemon Go. That title generated around $2 million in revenue after its first day, according to SensorTower.
Wizards Unite is currently featured in the iOS app store’s Games page front and center, which is surely helping its visibility and in turn profitability. Of course the game is also based on one of the world’s most popular media franchises, Harry Potter, and its free-to-play model gives a low barrier to entry. It’ll be interesting to see if Wizards Unite can succeed in delivering new content regularly to keep players interested and engaged (and spending money) on the game.
Crystal Dynamics studio head Scott Amos told GI.biz that the developer also hired Dave Fifield to work on multiplayer and Vince Napoli for combat design. Fifield worked on a number of Call of Duty games at Activision, while he also contributed to the Halo series at Microsoft. Napoli, meanwhile, recently worked on Sony where he was lead systems designer for God of War; specifically, he oversaw the development of Kratos’ axe, chain blade, and shield/bare hand combat design.
“We cherry-picked the best of the best and said: ‘Let’s put this together in a new way for something bigger than we’ve ever done,'” Amos said.
Square Enix appears to be putting a lot of muscle behind the new Avengers game. It’s assembled five studios to jointly develop the title including Crystal Dynamics in Redwood Shores, California, as well as sister studio Crystal Northwest in Bellevue, Washington. Nixxes Software in the Netherlands is also contributing to The Avengers, while Eidos Montreal is also working on it. In addition, Square Enix Japan has a “tech group” contributing to the new title.
“We’ve literally had to put these five studios together and say: ‘We’re going this far. Tomb Raider, awesome. Rise of the Tomb Raider, even better. Shadow of the Tomb Raider… and it’s like no, we’re going beyond the boundaries,'” Amos said.
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When it comes to setting up your gaming space, a goof quality chair is one of the things that often goes overlooked in favour of more techy additions but, along with your desk, it’s the one thing which should receive some time and consideration.
Choosing an unsupportive or poorly made chair can impact more than your in-game performance. In the long term it can lead to problems like neck and back disorders and numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, and in the short term it can leave you with a stiff neck or a pain in the backside, and let’s be honest, none of those things sound like a lot of fun.
With E3 2019 wrapped, New Releases is back to its normal schedule. It’s a solid week for Nintendo Switch, as Super Mario Maker 2 and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night both come to the portable console. The PS4 gets an exclusive of its own with the investigation-filled Judgment, and there’s another mystery to solve in The Sinking City. Finally, weapon-based fighting fans can get their fix with the Samurai Shodown reboot.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night — June 25
Available on: Switch
If Bloodstained reminds you of Castlevania, there’s a good reason: this action game comes from ex-Castlevania boss Koji Igarashi. The Kickstarter-funded project takes cues from Symphony of the Night, with a big castle to explore, monsters to slay, and powerful magic to acquire. It’s already out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but thanks to the portability of the Switch version, you can take the adventure on the go.
More Coverage:
Judgment — June 25
Available on: PS4
Much like Bloodstained, Judgment might remind you of another game. In this case, Yakuza comparisons are totally apt, since this spin-off is set in a lot of the same locations. It even uses the same combat system, letting you swap between styles during the fight. But it’s not about the Japanese mob; Judgment sees detective Takayuki Yagami solving a series of murders.
More Coverage:
Samurai Shodown — June 25
Available on: PS4, Xbox One
After nearly a decade out of the spotlight, the long-running fighting series is back with this reboot. For the uninitiated, the Shodown games have a tricky battle system wherein characters go down in a single hit. There are plenty of returning fighters plus some new contenders here, each with their own weapon style for you to master.
More Coverage:
The Sinking City — June 27
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Private investigator Charles Reed has come to the fishing town of Oakmont to look into a series of strange occurrences. The residents keep having terrifying visions, and the various city districts keep flooding. You’ll have to navigate the deep waters and battle Lovecraftian horrors as you track down the source of the madness.
More Coverage:
Super Mario Maker 2 — May 28
Available on: Switch
There’s almost too much to talk about with this Super Mario Maker sequel. You can build custom levels with a ton of new tools, and the story mode introduces some Mario mechanics you might not be familiar with, like the Angry Sun, Banzai Bills, and new level themes. What’s more, you can take on all the courses online cooperatively and competitively.
More Coverage:
Believe it or not, it’s already time to start talking about the big video games of July. Next week, New Releases will take a look at the month ahead, which is home to the likes of Fire Emblem: Three Houses and the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion, Shadowbringers.
It’s time to settle in and watch the newly-branded WWE PPV event-slash-happening, Stomping Grounds!
And try our best to enjoy ourselves despite Baron Corbin being in the main event!
What is Stomping Grounds? Well it’s a show that requires all participants to “Kick Ass and Take Names.” Or “Kick Names and Take Ass” if you’re Mantis in Infinity War.
A lot of the card features Super Showdown Super Do-Overs – from Rollins and Corbin squaring off again to more Roman vs. the Shane Brigade (in an actual WrestleMania do-over), and also Kofi vs. Dolph one more time. Some of the match stips have changed, but will the outcomes? Will any big titles change hands or will Stomping Grounds be more of a stepping stone?
