Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has received another update that adds Season 2’s final operator, Karla Rivas, to the in-game store. At the same time, however, the newly announced Gunsmith Customs feature has been temporarily disabled.
Developer Treyarch Studios announced on Twitter that the team is performing maintenance on the feature. Until the tinkering is done, Gunsmith Customs will remain offline. Treyarch said it will “update everyone when [the feature] is back up.”
Gunsmith Customs gives Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players more control over weapon customization. The feature allows for attachments from weapon blueprints to be interchanged with the seam weapon type to create individualized blueprints. Once the gun is customized–which is done in the Create-a-Class menu–these blueprints can be used in the game’s online multiplayer and Zombies modes.
The update also adds Karla Rivas, a seasoned guerrilla warfare specialist, to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Her in-store bundle comes with an Epic “Smuggler” skin, two Legendary weapon blueprints, and an Epic melee weapon blueprint.
Karla Rivas, on the hunt.
Lastly, this update makes some small tweaks to Dead Ops Arcade 3 in Zombies. This includes adjusting boss selection in the Room of Judgement, modifying XP, and addressing issues with bosses being auto-killed in the Room of Judgement.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Patch Notes (April 9)
Global
Features:
Gunsmith Customs:
Players can now mix-and-match attachments from Weapon Blueprints of the same weapon type to create new Blueprints with Gunsmith Customs.
Create your own custom Blueprints in Create-a-Class, name and same your creations via Custom Mods, and take them into your next match in Multiplayer or Zombies.
Players can create up to 10 custom Blueprints per weapon.
Operators:
Rivas:
Rivas Operator bundle now available in the Store in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.
Zombies
Dead Ops Arcade 3:
Gameplay:
Additional XP adjustments.
Adjustment to boss selection in Room of Judgment for Solo adventurers.
Addressed an issue in Room of Judgment sequence where bosses were getting auto-killed before the timer expired.
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Last night, LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD hosted its 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, where The Last of Us Part 2 and Tell Me Why tied to receive the honor for Outstanding Video Game.
The Outstanding Video Game category was added in 2018, and has previously been awarded to The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset and The Outer Worlds. The award is intended to honor LGBTQ inclusion and fair, accurate representation in gaming. Dontnod’s Tell Me Why was honored for its depiction of Tyler, a transgender man who returns to his hometown with his twin sister to revisit their complex shared family history. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 was celebrated for Ellie and Dina, two women depicted in a complex, emotional, and often tender relationship throughout the game, and Lev, a transgender young man whose storyline focuses heavily on his identity and whose depiction has been both celebrated and criticized by the trans community.
Other nominees for Outstanding Video Game this year included Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft), Borderlands 3: Guns, Love, and Tentacles (Gearbox Software & 2K Games), Bugnsax (Young Horses), Hades (Supergiant Games), If Found… (Dreamfeel & Annapurna Interactive), Ikenfell (Happy Ray Games & Humble Games), Immortals Fenyx Rising (Ubisoft), and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands (Blizzard Entertainment).
GLAAD has numerous other categories beyond video games, and the awards celebrated films like Happiest Season (Outstanding Film – Wide Release), TV series like Schitt’s Creek (Outstanding Comedy) and Star Trek: Discovery (Outstanding Drama), and children’s programming like The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (Outstanding Children’s Programming). The full list of award winners is as follows:
Outstanding Film – Wide Release: Happiest Season (Hulu/TriStar Pictures)
Outstanding Film – Limited Release: The Boys in the Band (Netflix)
Outstanding Documentary: Disclosure (Netflix)
Outstanding Comedy Series: Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Outstanding Drama Series: Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Outstanding TV Movie: Uncle Frank (Amazon Studios)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: I May Destroy You (HBO)
Outstanding Reality Program: We’re Here (HBO)
Outstanding Children’s Programming: The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (HBO Max)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming [TIE]: First Day (Hulu) and She-Ra & The Princesses of Power (DreamWorks Animation/Netflix)
Outstanding Music Artist: Sam Smith, Love Goes (Capitol)
Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist: CHIKA, Industry Games (Warner Records)
Outstanding Video Game [TIE]: Tell Me Why (DONTNOD Entertainment & Xbox Game Studios) and The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog & Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Outstanding Comic Book: Empyre, Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling, Empyre: Aftermath Avengers, by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Chip Zdarsky, Anthony Oliveira, Valerio Schiti, Manuel Garcia, Cam Smith, Marte Gracia, Triona Farrell, Joe Caramagna, Ariana Maher, Travis Lanham (Marvel Comics)
Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode: “Lilly Responds to Comments About Her Sexuality” A Little Late With Lilly Singh (NBC)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Dwyane Wade One-On-One: Basketball Legend Opens Up About Supporting Transgender Daughter” Good Morning America (ABC)
Outstanding TV Journalism – Long-Form: “ABC News Joe Biden Town Hall” (ABC)
Outstanding Print Article: “20 LGBTQ+ People Working to Save Lives on the Frontline” by Diane Anderson-Minshall, David Artavia, Tracy Gilchrist, Desiree Guerrero, Jeffrey Masters, Donald Padgett, and Daniel Reynolds (The Advocate)
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: People
Outstanding Online Journalism Article: “Gay Men Speak Out After Being Turned Away from Donating Blood During Coronavirus Pandemic: ‘We are Turning Away Perfectly Healthy Donors’” by Tony Morrison and Joel Lyons (GoodMorningAmerica.com)
Outstanding Online Journalism – Video or Multimedia: “Stop Killing Us: Black Transgender Women’s Lived Experiences” by Complex World (Complex News)
Outstanding Blog: TransGriot
Barbara Gittings Award for Excellence in LGBTQ Media: Windy City Times
Special Recognition: After Forever (Amazon)
Special Recognition: Deadline’s New Hollywood Podcast
Special Recognition: Happiest Season Soundtrack (Facet/Warner Records)
Special Recognition: Noah’s Arc: The ‘Rona Chronicles (Patrik Ian-Polk Entertainment)
Special Recognition: Out (Pixar/Disney+)
Special Recognition: Razor Tongue (YouTube)
Special Recognition: “The Son” Little America (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Spanish-Language Scripted Television Series: Veneno (HBO Max)
Outstanding Spanish-Language TV Journalism: “La Hermana de Aleyda Ortiz Narra Cómo Salió del Clóset y Cómo se lo Comunicó a su Familia” Despierta América (Univision)
Outstanding Spanish-Language Online Journalism Article: “Desapareció en México, Solo se Hallaron sus Restos: La Historia de la Doctora María Elizabeth Montaño y su Importancia para la Comunidad Trans” por Albinson Linares y Marina E. Franco (Telemundo.com)
Outstanding Spanish-Language Online Journalism – Video or Multimedia: “Soy Trans: El Camino a un Nuevo Despertar” por Sarah Moreno, Esther Piccolino, y José Sepúlveda (El Nuevo Herald)
Special Recognition (Spanish-Language): Jesse & Joy, “Love (Es Nuestro Idioma)”
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Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that watching movies and TV shows is basically what everyone does for the vast majority of their free time. And while many people enjoy streaming their entertainment, a lot of us also like having a physical item to put on the shelf. The video and audio quality of discs is also generally better than most streaming services can handle. And since the new generation of game consoles can play 4K UHD discs, why not give them a try?
The only question is, when are your favorite movies and TV shows coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray? The people want to know. So we took that question and ran with it. Below, you’ll find release dates and buy links for all the most popular upcoming home releases. Please enjoy.
April 2021 4K and Blu-ray Releases
April has a handful of big releases, including classics like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in 4K and newer fare like Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar. But for my money, personally, the collector’s set of Donnie Darko takes the top prize this month.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (Blu-ray) – April 6 – Buy It
Earwig and the Witch: Limited Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray) – April 6 – Buy It
Tremors: Special Edition – April 6 – Buy It: 4K UHD | Blu-ray
Donnie Darko Limited-Edition Collector’s Set – April 27 – Buy It
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (4K) – April 27 – Buy It
May 2021 4K and Blu-ray Releases
If you missed Judas and the Black Messiah or the Hemingway documentary when they were on TV or streaming, you can pick those up this month, along with some classic Hitchcock in 4K. Other standouts in May include Fast Times at Ridgemeont High’s Criterion Collection release, Saw in 4K, and Last Action Hero, a movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger goes meta. And, believe it or not, Shrek is 20 years old. Which makes everyone who saw it back in the day very old as well.
Super 8: 10th Anniversary Steelbook (4K) – May 25 – Buy It
Supernatural: Season 15 (Blu-ray) – May 25 – Buy It
Supernatural: The Complete Series (Blu-ray) – May 25 – Buy It
Ultraman Leo: Complete Series (Blu-ray) – May 25 – Buy It
June 2021 4K and Blu-ray Releases
Two big home releases are landing in June. There’s the Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection, which contains tons of bonus material and is releasing in honor of Raider of the Lost Ark’s 40th anniversary (holy cow). The other is Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, which has added scenes that supposedly make the story make more sense (always a good thing).
Doctor Who: John Pertwee Season 2 (Blu-ray) – June 1 – Buy It
Want more release dates? Check out our mega-post of all the biggest video game release dates to see what’s coming to consoles and PC this year and beyond.
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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
For today and through the weekend, there’s an extra 10% discount for buying something through Amazon Warehouse, Amazon’s official outlet for selling used and renewed products at significant discounts. Unlike Amazon Marketplace which hosts a variety of 3rd party vendors, Amazon Warehouse is handled entirely in-house. That means you’re entitled to the same 30-day return policy and customer service you would get if you were buying a regular item off Amazon.
10% Off Select Amazon Warehouse Video Games, Electronics, and More
Score an extra 10% discount on select items at the Amazon Warehouse. The following rules apply:
The item must be sold by Amazon Warehouse, not a 3rd party marketplace vendor
All eligible items will mention “Save 10% at checkout” in green text on the product page
For many of the items, you can choose Acceptable, Good, Very Good, or Like New condition items. If you really want something and a particular condition item is out of stock, check another condition’s stock before moving on. Amazon Warehouse inventory is strictly based on what’s available at the moment, so when something goes out of stock, it may come back later in the day. You can get a nice discount on next gen controllers, gaming peripherals, monitors, routers, and more. We’ve teased out some of the interesting ones below.
______________________________ Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends roughly 1/4 of his income on stuff he posts. Check out his latest Daily Deals Article and subscribe to his IGN Deals Newsletter.
A new Outriders update will start rolling out today on PC and PlayStation consoles that will re-enable crossplay between the two. Xbox players will have to wait as developer People Can Fly is “a little bit delayed” deploying the patch. As a result, crossplay between Xbox and other platforms has been disabled.
With the release of this patch, Crossplay between PlayStation and PC is now possible. Crossplay between Xbox and PC/PlayStation has been temporarily disabled. Crossplay between Consoles and PC will be fully restored once the Xbox patch has gone live. 3/3
There’s no word on when the update will go live on Xbox consoles. The studio said it is “hoping to have this patch ready for Xbox very soon” and will provide updates once there’s information to share.
Once the Xbox update goes live, People Can Fly said crossplay between consoles and PC will be “fully restored.” For now, People Can Fly said the update is over 2GB on PC and roughly 600MB on PlayStation.
The update will make a number of changes to the game, including stabilizing online connectivity and addressing a plethora of crashes. It’s unclear if this update has any connection to next week’s patch, which will nerf the Technomancer and Trickster’s bullet-based skills. The upcoming update has become a hot topic in the community, with Outriders players going to Reddit to blame livestreamers and YouTubers for the nerfs.
New Outriders Update Patch Notes
PC & Consoles:
Once platforms have been updated to the same patch version, cross-play across platforms will become viable again.
With the release of this patch, Crossplay between PlayStation and PC is now possible.
Crossplay between Xbox and PC/PlayStation has been temporarily disabled until the Xbox patch has released.
Crossplay between consoles and PC will be fully restored once the Xbox patch has gone live.
Overall stability improvements for the matchmaking service.
Crash Fixes:
Will fix a multiplayer crash that could result in client players having their inventory wiped.
Will fix the crash when completing the “A Bad Day” side quest.
Will fix the crash that occurs in No Man’s Land when your language is set to Spanish (Yes, we know. Video game code is a magical thing).
Will fix crash on launch issues.
Will include many more “random” crash fixes:
We are confident that these fixes will address the majority of crashes reported, as there are only a handful of root causes but the crashes they generate appear in a number of places.
Will fix the HUD disappearing in certain cases.
Will fix bugs that interfere with players re-spawning in multiplayer Expeditions.
Will fix bugs with players getting stuck on geometry (including when using Gravity Leap) or falling out of the world.
Will change the default matchmaking setting from “Open” to “Closed”:
You will still be able to manually change this setting to “Open” through your game settings.
This change will prevent players from joining games where the host didn’t intend to play in multiplayer. It will also cut down on AFK lobbies.
This will also help improve matchmaking times, as the queues will be less likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of constant matchmaking requests generated by “open” games.
Many other minor fixes and improvements.
PC Specific:
Will Fix a performance issue where GPU is not being fully utilized. This should help with stuttering and DX11/12 issues.
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Netflix is making a new limited series based on the thriller The 39 Steps, and the streaming company has hired Benedict Cumberbatch to star in it, according to Deadline.
Cumberbatch will play the lead, a man who gets mixed up in a global conspiracy. The series is inspired by the 1915 novel that was adapted by Alfred Hitchcock for a movie in 1935. The new limited series will be set in the present day.
Edward Berger is set to direct The 39 Steps from a script by The Revenant’s Mark L. Smith. It’s a re-teaming of sorts, as Berger wrote the TV show Patrick Melrose starring Cumberbatch. Berger recently directed episodes of the Bryan Cranston TV show Your Honor.
Deadline reported there will be six “or more” episodes, each of which will be one hour long. The plan is to film the series in Europe in 2021.
Cumberbatch is keeping very busy, as he recently starred in The Mauritanian and he is currently filming Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. He’s also rumored to have a role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he refuses to talk about that.
Paramount is delaying a slew of movie release dates, including Top Gun: Maverick, Mission Impossible 7, the upcoming untitled Star Trek, and more.
Top Gun: Maverick has been moved from July 2 all the way to November 19, taking over Mission Impossible 7’s now-former date. MI7 is now scheduled to release on May 27, 2022. Similarly, Mission Impossible 8 have been moved from November 2022 to July 7, 2023.
Top Gun: Maverick, which was shot with IMAX’s large-screen camera format, will reportedly still maintain that theater booking since it’s taking over MI7’s release date.
Mission Impossible 7 will now go up against Disney’s upcoming untitled live-action film and Lionsgate’s John Wick 4. Earlier this year MI7 director Christopher McQuarrie announced that Rob Delaney and Cary Elwes have joined the cast.
Other release date changes include:
Jackass moving from September 3 to October 22, 2021.
Snake Eyes is moving up from October 2021 to July 23, 2021.
The untitled Bee Gees biopic moving to November 4, 2022.
The Shrinking of Treehorn moving to November 10, 2023.
An untitled Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski movie pushing back to November 17, 2023.
As long as Star Wars has been around, fans have been dying to own their very own working lightsaber, and following a surprise announcement by Disney, that could soon be a reality. During a Disney Parks press event on April 8 to announce the opening date of Avengers Campus, Disney also revealed a working prototype for a lightsaber that will likely end up for sale by the company sometime in the near future.
As Disney’s Parks, Experiences, and Products chairman Josh D’Amaro wrapped up the press conference, he reportedly ended his remarks by unveiling the device and simply teasing, “It’s real.”
No pictures were allowed to be taken of the event and Disney has yet to publicly release anything about the device. However, Walt Disney Imagineering’s portfolio creative executive Scott Trowbridge has confirmed that it exists and hinted that photos and video will eventually be released.
“A lot of questions today about whether the lightsaber that Josh D’Amaro revealed today was real or CGI, and, whether I’d share photos or video,” he wrote in a tweet. “Yes it was/is really real, and….. not yet.”
That said, don’t start thinking about all of the trees you’re going to chop down with it. There’s no way this going to be an actual weapon. Instead, it’s likely just going to be one of the coolest collectibles ever, complete with a retractable blade.
As for how it works, that remains a mystery. However, Disney did register a patent in 2017 for a lightsaber device. A description of the patent reads as follows:
“A special effects device for providing an energy sword effect. The device includes two long plastic semi-cylinders, and these two blade body members are rolled perpendicular to their length, which creates compact cylinders of material of small volume that can be provided on a pair of spools in a hilt. To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools. Each blade body member passes through a blade forming guideway that nests the semi-cylindrical blade body members together as they leave the hilt. To retract the blade, the process is reversed. The lighting of the blade is achieved with a flexible strip of light sources. The light source strip is attached to a blade end cap and positioned in the center of the two blade body members such that it is pulled up along with the blade body members during their extension.”
Obviously, Disney has not revealed when these will be available to the general public. With that immersive Star Wars hotel coming to Walt Disney World in Florida, though, one would expect you’ll be able to buy one there when it eventually opens.
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First released in 2005, Star Wars: Republic Commando acted as many a young Star Wars fan’s initial introduction to the concept that the clone troopers of the prequel trilogy are human beings–creating unique identities for the seemingly identical soldiers. Republic Commando has a strong legacy among Star Wars fans–despite the game’s removal from the official canon, it remains a key part of the Star Wars universe, especially when it comes to video game entries.
Handled by Aspyr Media, Star Wars: Republic Commando Remastered brings the original 2005 Xbox and PC game to PS4 and Switch with enhanced HD graphics and modernized controls, though the multiplayer is absent. Otherwise, it’s the same game. And though the flaws in its gameplay are only more noticeable now 16 years later, this remaster manages to still deliver a compelling story of four specialized commandos engaging in a variety of combat missions across the Clone Wars.
Squad Up
In Republic Commando, you play as RC-1138 aka “Boss,” commanding sergeant of a specialized commando unit trained to take on missions that require a greater level of skill and cognitive ability than standard clone troopers possess. Your unit, Delta Squad, is also composed of sarcastic demolitions expert RC-1262 aka “Scorch,” by-the-books hacker and technical analyst RC-1140 aka “Fixer,” and morbidly grim sniper RC-1207 aka “Sev.” The game takes place over several locations, beginning with an assignment on Geonosis at the end of Attack of the Clones and concluding on Kashyyyk just prior to the events of Revenge of the Sith.
The different actors for Boss (Temuera Morrison), Scorch (Raphael Sbarge), Fixer (Andrew Chaikin), and Sev (Jonathan David Cook) do most of the legwork in differentiating each member of the squad from one another. Most of the game sees all four working together, providing numerous opportunities for conversations between the squad. This helps to build a rapport with your AI-teammates–Scorch and Sev’s brotherly rivalry with one another is still amusing years later, as are Fixer’s repeated but useless reprimands for the two of them to act more like adults. As you’re in command, the others look up to you as a big brother figure, and this familial bond creates a tendency to act protectively towards your squadmates.
That’s a good thing, because that desire to keep your squad alive will help motivate you to make good decisions. Having elements of a tactical shooter, Republic Commando offers you options in how to lead your squad through combat gauntlets–these range from general orders such as “defend a spot” or “search and destroy,” to more specific commands like telling Sev to use his sniper rifle from behind a certain piece of cover or tasking Scorch with setting a demolition charge on an obstacle in front of you. Holographic outlines of where a squadmate can do something will appear on your HUD, allowing you to know what options you have in each area and easily assign squadmates to where you want them to go.
The Illusion Of Command
Early on, there isn’t much agency in how you can command your squad, which, along with the game’s linear nature, can feel disappointingly restrictive. There’s very little choice in how to tackle a problem on Geonosis–usually the solution is just given to you as you’re funneled into a plan instead of making your own. But your possibilities do open up in later levels.
For example, my favorite part of the game has you enter a hangar where you know droid soldier dispensers are going to land–in fact you can see them in the distance, giving you a window of opportunity to quickly devise a plan before the fight breaks out. Throughout the hangar, there are spots where your squad can take up positions to snipe or throw grenades or man a turret, but there are also a dozen or so canisters where you or a squadmate can attach motion-sensing explosive traps. So it’s a mad dash to get a good idea of how the hangar is laid out, decide where to assign your squad to do the most damage, and figure out where to put traps to plug the holes in your defense. It encourages you to make good judgment calls fast because the threat is so imminent. And it’s impossible to do everything before the first dispenser arrives, forcing you to react to any of your mistakes. It’s a tense moment but so incredibly rewarding, because it’s one of the strongest examples of seeing how your plans can save the day.
Republic Commando doesn’t give you something like that prior, nor does it do anything too similar for the rest of the campaign (there are a couple of other standout moments like it, but they don’t quite require the same level of strategic prowess), which unfortunately means that this tactical game isn’t actually all that tactical. Sure, you’re directing the squad and making the decisions, but when the decision is whether or not you want to use a certain sniping spot (without much downside either way), the decision-making process isn’t as impactful.
And that’s where Republic Commando Remastered struggles the most. In 2005, the illusion that you were regularly making impactful decisions was only broken after playing the game several times and noticing that you were largely making similar decisions to your first run through the game. In 2021, with 16 more years of game design iteration to compare to, it’s a lot more obvious. It’s not like you can assign your fellow commandos to snipe from anywhere for instance, you can only tell them to snipe from predetermined locations and there’s typically no more than one or two spots per area. If you enter an area and there’s a computer to hack in order to proceed and one place to provide cover with sniper fire, the level design is automatically funneling you into solving the immediate problem by splicing into the computer and placing a sniper for overwatch support. Sure you could just choose to not place the sniper where the game has designated the ideal spot, but that doesn’t really impact the battle other than making it a bit longer because no one is taking out the far-off targets since everyone in the squad is waiting for enemies to close in. That’s not you making a strategy to the best of your tactical abilities, that’s the level design telling you what to do–and there’s no satisfaction in following someone else’s plan in a game all about tactics.
And so for several moments throughout the game (especially the start), it can feel like you’re just going through the motions of assigning squadmates to the two or three necessary positions that need filling. It’s a problem that becomes less prominent further into the game when you start being put into larger spaces with four or more possible commands and thus giving you the opportunity to actually decide what you want to do, but your lack of agency as a commander never really goes away.
Even though tactical command options are fairly limited, the absence of them is still noticeable, and the rare moments when your tactical abilities are stripped from you are still incredibly effective at instilling a sense of vulnerability. After you build rapport with the other members of Delta Squad, you’re occasionally thrown into situations where you must fight solo. With no teammates chirping in your ear, it’s incredibly lonely and that feeling is reinforced through the gameplay in the lack of squadmates to assist you in battle–you can’t assign Sev to cover you or task Fixer to slowly hack a computer while you and Scorch hold off an oncoming threat, you have to do everything on your own. It’s definitely not as stressful as playing a survival horror game, but the sensation is similar; it sells the urgency of the situation where you need to reconvene with your squad as soon as you can. Even if your ability to direct your team is somewhat limited most of the time, your role as the commander builds a strong sense of camaraderie and it’s noticeable when it’s gone.
Changes In The Remaster
The lack of multiplayer is the remaster’s most noticeable change, though admittedly, multiplayer was never Republic Commando’s strong suit. The multiplayer included two variations of deathmatch and two variations of capture the flag on eight different maps that were inspired by levels from the campaign–it was your standard mid-2000s multiplayer shooter affair (meaning it was not Halo 2), and it lacked the squad-based banter that makes the single-player campaign as enjoyable as it is.
I also don’t miss the game’s old control scheme, which was somewhat annoying on the original Xbox. On Switch and PS4, the game takes advantage of the Joy-Con and DualShock 4’s bumpers, two extra buttons that the original Xbox controller didn’t have, in order to make switching grenades and visor modes easier.
For this review, I played Republic Commando Remastered on Switch. Playing it docked and with a gamepad controller is my preference considering it’s easier to see far off targets on a larger screen, but the game holds up in handheld mode with the Joy-Con controllers too. Having not tested the remaster on PS4 (or PS5 via backwards compatibility), I can’t comment on that version, but the Switch did hitch on occasion–basically every time the game loaded into a new area, registered a manual save, or tried to manage numerous enemies and/or explosions on the screen. It never put me in a more difficult situation, but it is noticeable and thus a bit annoying. My game also outright crashed once, but the generous auto save feature meant I only lost a few seconds of progress.
On Switch, aiming can take some getting used to, but Republic Commando is quite loose on demands for precision so the Joy-Con controllers can effectively line up a shot–you don’t have to be exact, you just have to ensure your gun is aiming in the right direction. It’s thankfully generous in what counts as a hit, so it’s never frustrating that you can’t achieve the same level of precision as a mouse and keyboard.
Same Game, New Paint Job
In the end, Republic Commando Remastered doesn’t do anything to drastically change the experience of playing the original game. And to that end, its shortcomings have only become more apparent with time–tactical shooters have evolved to offer more satisfying experiences with choice and consequence–so you likely won’t find much replayability here.
But it’s still entertaining all things considered. If you loved its campaign back then, you’ll see that it has aged well in some respects. And if you haven’t played Republic Commando before, the remaster’s upgraded graphics and modernized control scheme allow you to enjoy a game that’s 16 years old.
Plus, Vode An, Republic Commando’s main theme, is still the most epic piece of original composition made for a Star Wars video game, and that alone deserves to be experienced.
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Plants vs Zombies 2 wasn’t what a lot of fans expected out of a sequel to the classic strategy game, as it was rife with microtransactions that many players said felt like hitting a free-to-play wall. The original producer of the game, Matt Johnston, has opened up about what was going on behind the scenes as those decisions were being made.
In an interview with MinnMax, Johnston said that the seed of microtransactions in Plants vs Zombies 2 was part of its original design, with the idea of plant food. This was intended to be a leg up for players who were struggling, as a way to overcome a particular obstacle. In the midst of development, though, his team was suddenly asked to make a slice of the game playable for upper management, for reasons he didn’t know at the time. And while the team made the demo, it’s at this point that he first expressed some reservations about following a F2P model.
“We don’t think that’s possible without breaking the game,” Johnston explained. “The game is this interwoven, meticulously hand-balanced set of interdependent components. Every plant has a zombie that it depends on for that balance. Making sure that that whole thing is woven together in that perfect lineage and that perfect experience was just a magic trick that you can’t mess with.”
The demo was well-received by management, and shortly after PopCap was acquired by EA. That’s when Johnston was told that the earlier demo had been to give EA, as potential buyers, an idea of what was going on with the game. Sometime after the acquisition, Johnston says he was visited by then-EA CEO John Riccitiello who said his kid–a big PvZ plan–had suggested the idea of rent-able plants.
“It went against everything we had just learned,” Johnston said. “If you have that interwoven fabric of all these elements, you pull one out and the whole thing unravels.”
Johnston said he advocated for keeping PvZ2 as-is and making a separate free-to-play game, built from the ground up with those hooks in mind, so it wouldn’t “break anything.” Shortly after, he claims, he was taken off the project and then later asked to leave the company.
PopCap’s Peggle series saw a similar outcome with Peggle Blast, which also made heavy use of microtransactions. Plants vs Zombies has since gone on to spin off into the Garden Warfare series of shooters, which has three entries of its own, along with the F2P collectible card game Plants vs Zombies Heroes. Plants vs Zombies 3 has been soft-launched in some territories, but a final release date has not been set. EA says it has “optional microtransactions that can help you speed up progression.”
