Author: Trafficblast

Austrian game publisher THQ Nordic is staying busy. The company announced as part of its latest earnings report that it had 55 games in development at the end of last quarter, 35 of which have not yet been announced. That is a lot of games.

In addition to the franchises that it already owned, THQ Nordic has been on a buying spree of late. Just this week, the company announced that it acquired Bugbear Entertainment (Wreckfest, Ridge Racer: Unbounded) and Goat Simulator developer Coffee Stain. In September, THQ Nordic acquired the Alone in the Dark and Act of War franchises from Atari and the Kingdoms of Amalur franchise from the defunct 38 Studios. In August, THQ Nordic bought the TimeSplitters series, further boosting its roster of franchises.

In February this year, THQ Nordic acquired Koch Media, and in doing so took ownership of the Saints Row and Dead Island franchises, among others.

In 2017, Nordic Games announced it was rebranding to THQ Nordic. The company acquired a number of THQ’s intellectual properties during the company’s bankruptcy auction, including the Darksiders, Red Faction, and MX vs. ATV franchises.

Given THQ Nordic’s aggressive acquisition history so far, you might think the company would be slowing down in the future, but that may not be the case. In a statement, THQ Nordic said it “foresees further strategic investments in owned studios and/or publishing deals going forward.”

The next major releases from THQ Nordic are Darksiders 3 (November 2018) and Metro Exodus (February 2019).

EA and DICE have issued patch notes for a day-one update to Battlefield V. It’s out already for players who have gained early access through EA’s subscription services or a special edition, and it’s targeted mainly at a handful of stability issues and bugs.

The change log details the fixes. It fixes an issue in which team sizes could be very uneven, makes improvements to matchmaking to reduce disconnects, and addresses an error that would make the revive functionality stop working, among many others. In particular, a few distinct Airborne issues have been addressed by this patch, along with one in War Stories that would prevent you from collecting Letters.

The patch has a couple of platform-specific notes too. On Xbox One the patch improves how it resumes when you use the Instant-On function, while on PC it enables RTX ray tracing if your graphic card supports it. The studio also encourages feedback, which you can give through its forums or the Answers HQ.

Battlefield V reviews have started to roll out in advance of its release next week. GameSpot’s own early impressions suggest there’s a lot more to explore before the final verdict, but it’s off to a good start.

“As of now, it feels as if Battlefield V is a variation on a well-established theme. It maintains the series tradition of grand spectacle with incredible sound design, impactful weaponry, and large-scale multiplayer chaos,” wrote Michael Higham. “There’s a lot more to dig into, like the fortification system, squad reinforcements perks, and how destruction may change map dynamics, and spending more time with the game will paint a better picture. At the end of the day, it’s still Battlefield, and Battlefield V is shaping up to be a good one at that.”

Change List

• Fixed an issue that could result in a very uneven number of players at the start of a round.
• Made improvements to matchmaking with a full squad which should result in less disconnects.
• In some cases, the revive functionality would suddenly stop to function for all of the players on a server. This has now been fixed.
• Further improvements to game client stability have been made.
• In the Airborne game mode, spawn protection has been added when attackers spawn into planes. The planes are no longer as vulnerable to AA fire as they used to be at longer distances.
• Fixed an issue in Airborne where the bomb carriers could finish arming the objective even though they were dead.
• Players can no longer shoot down airplanes too quickly in Airborne, which could result in the attackers not being able to spawn.
• In War Stories, players are no longer able to collect Letters while playing offline due to them not being able to update the persistence counters, which requires an online connection.
• Fixed an issue where a weapon would disappear on the weapon selection screen.
• Fixed an issue in Frontlines mode on Devastation where the bomb in some rare cases spawned inside a wall.
• Fixed an issue which made the menus unusable when cancelling a matchmaking session.
• Fixed an issue with the lens sight alignment on the MP34 weapon.

Xbox One Only

• Improved how the game resumes when using the Xbox One Instant-On function.

PC Only

• RTX ray tracing can now be enabled with graphics cards that support this function.

Battlefield V is now going live for subscribers to EA or Origin Access, after a long wait punctuated by a last-minute delay. This one takes the series back to the iconic setting of World War 2, but does a return to the Greatest Generation make for a great game?

While reviews are starting to roll in, some sites are publishing early impressions or reviews-in-progress, including GameSpot. And in a year when Battlefield’s major competitor, Call of Duty, has eschewed a single-player campaign, the presence of one in Battlefield V seems to be standing out. The consensus agrees that the package as shipped already has a lot to explore thanks to the campaign and multiplayer, even knowing more is on the way. Its battle royale mode Firestorm is coming next year, and DICE has built a reputation for long-term support.

GameSpot’s Battlefield V early impressions found it maintained the scale we’ve come to expect from a Battlefield game. “There’s a lot more to dig into, like the fortification system, squad reinforcements perks, and how destruction may change map dynamics, and spending more time with the game will paint a better picture,” wrote critic Michael Higham. “At the end of the day, it’s still Battlefield, and Battlefield V is shaping up to be a good one at that.”

Read on for more reviews from around the industry, or check GameSpot sister site Metacritic for more reviews.

• Game: Battlefield V
• Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Developer / publisher: DICE / Activision
• Release date: Out now (limited) / Wide release November 20
• Price: US $60 / £50 / AU $69

GameSpot — No Score

“As of now, it feels as if Battlefield V is a variation on a well-established theme. It maintains the series tradition of grand spectacle with incredible sound design, impactful weaponry, and large-scale multiplayer chaos.” — Michael Higham [Full review]

Gaming Trend — 9/10

“After spending quite a while with the game, I’m blown away that there’s still so much to discover. With dozens of collectibles to find in the single player campaign, a seemingly-unlimited number of weekly challenges, and the Tides of War looming large on the horizon, Battlefield V is the best this series has ever been, and easily the best FPS of the season.” — Ron Burke [Full review]

PC Games N — 9/10

“Battlefield V delivers the series’ finest single-player campaign yet, painting the horror of war from rarely seen perspectives. That tension carries through to the multiplayer, which has been tuned to hammer home your vulnerability in a firefight.” — James McMahon [Full review]

CG Magazine — 8/10

“Despite the bad press at the start, I have a lot of faith in DICE as a developer and they have delivered a fantastic shooter this year with Battlefield V after listening to their community and taking their feedback seriously.” — Cole Watson [Full review]

Digital Trends — 6/10

“Battlefield V is a fine World War II shooter and it has the potential to turn into a great one with a few updates and the addition of its post-launch modes, but with Black Ops 4 providing such a rich and engaging competitive experience and last year’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus offering a better (and more upfront) Nazi-shooting campaign, there’s little reason for this game to be your first choice. That’s partially a testament to the strength of its competition, but Battlefield V fails to impress the same way Battlefield 1 did. By all means, give it a try if you’re a fan of DICE’s previous work, but know that you’ll have to put up with some pretty glaring faults.” — Gabe Gurwin [Full review]