Category: Games

Sledgehammer Games has officially unveiled Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s multiplayer mode, discussing and showing off new features like tactical destruction and how the game will have more maps at launch (20) than ever before in franchise history. Here’s everything we know so far about Vanguard’s multiplayer mode. This post will be updated as we learn more.

Maps

There will be 20 multiplayer maps for Vanguard at launch, which is the most ever for a Call of Duty game at launch. Presumably, more maps will come to Vanguard after launch as DLC.

16 of the maps are for Vanguard’s standard multiplayer, while 4 are for the Champion Hill mode. The maps are set across the various WWII fronts, including the Eastern Front, North Africa, and the Pacific.

The Hotel Royal, Red Star, and Gavutu maps will be playable in the upcoming beta at the start, with a fourth–Eagle’s Nest–coming in the second test. Additionally, new versions of the World at War maps Castle and Dome will be playable when the game launches. The remakes support Vanguard’s new destructible environments, while they have new visual flairs to update them for 2021.

Patrol Mode

A new multiplayer mode for Vanguard is Patrol, which is a spin on Hardpoint, except the Hardpoint moves across the map. You can get a glimpse at the Patrol mode in the deep dive trailer below. Classic Call of Duty modes like Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Search & Destroy will also be in the game, along with the new Champion Hill mode.

Tactical Destruction

Borrowing a system from Rainbow Six and other popular games, Vanguard will usher in destructible environments in select scenarios. As revealed in the announcement trailer, players will be able to destroy certain elements of the environment to help flush out enemies hiding behind cover. Destructible environments apply to every map, and the caliber of your weapon will affect how quickly and effectively environments can be destroyed.

New Art Style

Sledgehammer Games is going for a “neo epic” art style, which is a marked change from what you might be used to. “Its tone is also a departure from the traditional WWII fare: while remaining reverent to the background and time period, Sledgehammer Games is treating multiplayer as an expression of celebration toward heroism–even through antiheroes, but not villains–on a truly global scale,” the publisher said.

Blindfire

New for Call of Duty is the ability to blindfire, meaning they can shoot over a piece of cover. This will be a less precise way to aim and fire a weapon, but it can be useful in some situations. Mounting is back as well.

“When you find cover behind sturdy objects, you now have two options for firing back aside from normal hip or aim-down-sights fire: the first is mounting, which returns from previous games, though Operators can additionally ‘slide’ their mounted weapon along the vertical or horizontal surface to move around,” Activision said. “The other is blindfire–at the sacrifice of some accuracy, this maneuver allows for better cover in situations where you’re about to experience suppressing fire.”

No Factions

In a big shift for Call of Duty, Vanguard will not have Factions in multiplayer. Instead, team-based modes will be made up of teams of fictional characters that you can create and customize to your liking. Sledgehammer’s previous game, Call of Duty: WWII, featured two Factions always going head-to-head–Axis and Allies.

Operators

The cast of Operators in Vanguard have been designed to “represent a global cast of countries, cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life,” Activision said.

“Through Sledgehammer’s diverse writing team and an expert World War II historian, these fictional characters are inspired by real people who fought in WWII, and they all have a story to tell,” the publisher explained.

Each Operator will have “extended background” details available, like information on their upbringing and why they joined the war. The “quip” system from previous games is updated to help further accentuate a particular character’s individuality.

Additionally, there is a new leveling system for Operators called Operator XP.

“Separate from regular, weapon, battle pass, and Clan XP, players can unlock new cosmetics, Skins, Calling Cards, Finishing Moves, and more just by playing matches with a specific Operator,” Activision said. “Outside of their biography (which includes their nickname, citizenship, and ethnicity) and challenges, each Operator also has a Favorite Weapon.”

As an example, Polina’s favorite weapon is the 3-Line Rifle to suit her affinity for sniper rifles. Polina gets additional XP when she uses the rifle.

There will be six Operators in the Vanguard multiplayer beta, and they also include Daniel Take Yatsu, Roland Zelmet, Lucas Riggs, Wade Jackson, and Arthur Kingsley. However, Operator leveling is not available until Vanguard releases in November.

Combat Pacing

There is also a new “combat pacing” system in Vanguard that will allow players to choose the “intensity” level they want. This includes:

• Tactical: These are the lobbies that franchise veterans know well. This is the experience that you’re used to with classic Call of Duty combat timing. Tactical Comat Pacing is always 6v6.
• Assault: This option provides balanced Combat Pacing that gives you enough room to breathe and a lot of targets to kill. Assault is a middle ground between Tactical and Blitz. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 20 and 28 players.
• Blitz: High-action lobbies see the intensity cranked up to frenetic levels. Prepare for plenty of combat when choosing to join a Blitz. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 28 and 48 players.

Gunsmith Updates And Gun Balance

Call of Duty’s gun customization mode, Gunsmith, will now allow players “unrestricted” access to attachments, so you can select up to 10 on any individual weapon. This allows for “thousands” of possibilities beyond what was possible before, Activision said. Players are also able to adjust the damage and rate of fire with these attachments, and they can also alter the caliber of weapons. In the announcement video, Sledgehammer said it’s committed to ensuring the game is balanced, so you can expect tuning updates over time.

“When choosing a loadout for Multiplayer, players will be gearing up at the Gunsmith within Create-a-Class. An evolution of a system first introduced in Modern Warfare (2019), the Gunsmith will now feature up to 10 attachment slots on certain weapons, allowing for thousands of additional possibilities to help with nearly every combat scenario and playstyle,” Activision said.

“For example, Shotguns can now be outfitted with a ‘Buck Slug,’ which is a shell filled with short-range buckshot and a slug round for longer range,” the publisher added. “This combination is just one way that ammo can change for weaponry–expect other attachments that adjust a weapon’s caliber up or down to affect bullet penetration, fire rate, and more.”

Clan System

A new Clan system in Vanguard has its own dedicated progression, tailored to a particular clan, or group of players. Clans work across platforms and console generations. Progression, emblems, and battle pass items that are unlocked are given to each player in the Clan.

“The Clan system will feature elements from the Modern Warfare(2019) Regiments system, which will be carried forward and renamed ‘Groups,'” Activision said. “Clans will feature bespoke progression, emblems, and even Battle Pass–related rewards unlocked for your entire group, giving you and your squadmates something to aim for outside of victories during play sessions.”

Perks Are Now Proficiencies

Perks are still in Vanguard, but they are called Proficiencies in the new game.

“For example, the Lightweight Perk allows for increased speed, including with Tactical Sprinting, while the Weapon Perk Gung-Ho, which is active when using a weapon with it ‘attached,’ allows for an Operator to fire this weapon while sprinting,” Activision said.

PC Features

For PC players, they can look forward to an uncapped frame rate and customization options like keybinds, the ability to reduce motion sickness, and text readility. The game also supports ultrawide and multimonitor setups. Additionally, Sledgehammer said it has done work to improve input latency, so players can now expect this to be in the mere milliseconds.

This is just a very small sampling of what’s on deck for Vanguard’s multiplayer. Be sure to read Sledgehammer’s full and in-depth blog post to find out all the specifics.

GameSpot was able to playtest the Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta and check out what’s changed and what’s been added. This includes more weapons, maps, game modes, and customization. Join Richie as he breaks down his experience with the hands-on gameplay session. Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Beta will be open to PlayStation players Sep 10th-13th, and will open to all other platforms September 18th-20th.

By Aaron Sampson and Richie B on September 7, 2021 at 10:30AM PDT

Call of Duty: Vanguard will soon be launching their public Beta. (Sep 10th for PlayStation and Sep 18 for all platforms) GameSpot was able to play the beta before launch and Richie Bracamonte is here to break it all down. Several updates were made including more game modes, perks, killstreaks and more. Developer Sledgehammer Games also addressed issues plaguing the Alpha including lighting and wounded player effects where the screen would darken on the brink of death.

Aside from these fixes, the beta build included four new maps of all sizes. A large, snowy city map (Red Star), A lush beach map (Gavutu), a hotel map (Hotel Royal) and an indoor mountain-top map (Eagles Nest). All of which have been confirmed for the public beta. 20 total maps have been confirmed for the full release, four of which are 2v2 gunfight exclusives. Other features have been added to the beta such as the returning field upgrades and create-a-class system. Despite using weapons from the second World War, there are many ways to upgrade your loadout with a gunsmith that follows closely in line to the style of 2019’s Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5th and has two more public betas scheduled later this month. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more coverage of Vanguard as well as the upcoming Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite.

Diablo II: Resurrected’s beta has come and gone, and with just a few weeks left to go until the full game’s release, Blizzard is offering additional insight regarding certain features, including 21:9 ultrawide monitor support.

While the game will be playable on an ultrawide monitor, it won’t support the full 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio, instead only extending to 19:9. Support for 21:9 was included in the game’s technical alpha, but was reduced to 19:9 in the more recent beta, leaving many players wondering why.

As it turns out, there’s a good reason for the limitation–21:9 breaks the game. Specifically, playing at an ultrawide aspect ratio makes it so that players can attack from further ranges than the game was designed for. Enemies targeted from the extended range ultrawide monitors provide simply fail to recognize they are being attacked, and as a result don’t react.

“To protect the integrity of everyone’s experience and promote an equal playing field for all, those with ultrawide monitors will be able to have their game screen purview extended to 19:9 (the maximum length of the in-game limitation zones) with a vignette on the sides of the game screen,” Blizzard wrote in an official forum post. “We recognize that players have spent a lot of money to assemble their 21:9 hardware setups and seeing black bars may be frustrating for their experience. So, we’ll continue to watch these discussions and explore possible solutions that don’t change how the game is played.”

Blizzard also clarified its reasoning for removing TCP/IP support, a feature present in the original version of Diablo II. The feature was removed due to it “enabling significant security-related issues” in the game.

“We’re aware that removing this feature adds a large hurdle for talented multiplayer modders in our community,” Blizzard wrote. “Still, our priority is to keep this game’s ecosystem as secure as possible for all of our players.”

Additional changes will be coming to console lobbies in the full version of the game, allowing players to more easily group with other players based on different activities. Despite player requests, Blizzard states console versions of Diablo II: Resurrected will not include the ability to create custom lobbies, though it will “monitor feedback on this topic” following the game’s launch.

Diablo II: Resurrected will support cross-progression across all platforms when it releases September 23, and is available for preorder now. The game will release as Blizzard continues to deal with the fallout from a state of California lawsuit alleging the company has a pattern of harassment and discrimination towards women. Diablo IV, which recently lost its game director, is currently in development and does not have a release date.

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Marvel’s Midnight Suns looks to bring tactical combat to the Marvel universe, and a new extended gameplay demo pitting Wolverine against his nemesis Sabretooth shows that despite being turn-based, players will be leaving plenty of destruction in their wake.

Sabretooth is the boss encounter in the demo, and Wolverine and player-created hero the Hunter must team-up to fight him. Unlike most cannon fodder enemies who die in just a few blows, Sabretooth requires more coordination and planning to defeat thanks to his much higher amount of HP and his stun and bind resistance.

Much of the demo shows Wolverine chaining together attacks against multiple foes while also utilizing the environment to deal damage. On multiple occasions, Wolverine kicks or throws objects into enemies, and at one point even leaps off a nearby pile of wooden pallets to plunge into Sabretooth. Some of Wolverine’s attacks grant him lifesteal, allowing him to be aggressive and bring the fight to the enemy.

Following Sabretooth’s defeat, Firaxis offered new details on what players will be doing in Marvel’s Midnight Suns when they aren’t battling supervillians. In new gameplay spotlighting the Abbey, which serves as the base of the Midnight Suns, Firaxis says players will be able to choose between different casual outfits for their player-created character to wear and be able to customize their living quarters. The entire Abbey grounds are available to be explored, and, of course, you can pet the dog, in this case the hellhound Charlie.

Interacting with various Marvel heroes while at the Abbey is a key part of the game, with Firaxis emphasizing the game’s various RPG elements are just as important as its combat. Conversations with other characters will often include branching dialogue choices that will have an effect on the player-character’s light/dark balance, and players can also choose to interact with heroes in other ways, like watching a movie in the common room.

While Marvel’s Midnight Suns does feature a card-based battle system, Firaxis says the only microtransactions the game will have are cosmetic and that no, you won’t be able to date Marvel heroes. Marvel’s Midnight Suns releases March 2022 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Last week, Sony officially opened up preorders for Horizon Forbidden West ahead of the game’s release on PS4 and PS5 in February next year. Curiously it was bound to be the first exclusive from Sony without a PS4-to-PS5 upgrade path, forcing you to purchase the $80 Digital Deluxe edition if you needed both. Sony has since reversed that decision, which has inadvertently made the PS5 version of the game a less sensible purchase, especially if you’re buying digitally.

Right now, the PS4 version of Horizon Forbidden West retails for $60, while the PS5 version is listed for $70. This isn’t too surprising–all of Sony’s exclusives outside of launch titles that are also cross-gen have followed this pattern, including Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut most recently. Unlike those, however, the PS4-to-PS5 upgrade for the PS4 version is going to be free following Sony’s announcement over the weekend, making the $10 premium for the base PS5 version a costly option for what it gets you.

In fact, paying $70 outright for the PS5 version might be a worse value proposition too. With the PS4 version of the game and its inherent free upgrade, you are getting Horizon Forbidden West for two consoles. The base PS5 version is only for Sony’s new console, so you lose out of that additional platform while also paying $10 more, which makes little sense. If you’re buying the physical version, you do get the PS5 case and disc, which might be important to you if you’re proud of your physical collection.

It’s clear that this is something Sony might address in the coming weeks, since it’s a little confusing now to those without context as to why one version is more expensive than the other (especially since the PS4 version on PSN doesn’t make the free upgrade option that clear). It could be that Sony is devising a method to compensate for preorders that occurred before its reversal before aligning the prices of both versions.

Either way, take this as a PSA to only preorder the PS4 version if you are planning to before launch, since there’s no reason to pay any more than that for the standard edition.

It’s hard to say exactly when Epic Games began developing the Fortnite lore bible, but one thing is certain: No season of Fortnite has ever put its narrative in as bright a spotlight as Season 7. With Fortnite Season 8 just around the corner, it’s time for a Season 7 refresher.

Even with the emphasis on the story this season, there are details Epic does not outright confirm, leaving me to infer some plot points from things like battle pass cosmetics, seasonal quests, and environmental clues. To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Lost has been off the air for over a decade. I need a new mystery-box in my life. Here’s everything that happened in the Fortnite Season 7 storyline, just in time for Fortnite Season 8.

Aliens Attack – The Last Reality

At the end of Season 6, Raz’s plans to wield the Zero Point for his own gains backfired, and in toying with the island’s lifeforce as he did, he mistakenly alerted an alien civilization named The Last Reality, who previously either did not know of the island or had been leaving it alone.

Small-scale abductions of individual loopers began toward the end of Season 6 before the aliens eventually attacked in full force. The Mothership arrived and cast a dark shadow over the entire island. Emboldened by their successful infiltration of the Imagined Order (IO)–the mysterious organization that seems to maintain the island’s functionality–the aliens hijacked the IO’s technology and used it to abduct the Zero Point, leaving only a crater where the all-important orb once glowed. It also sent The Foundation–a cryptic character in his own right who was stuck inside the Zero Point–flying into the ocean somewhere. We haven’t seen him return just yet.

With control of the island, the aliens began monitoring all regions of it, even as the Imagined Order set up camp at Corny Complex as well as satellite stations all across Apollo to conduct their own research. Patrolling the streets with their ray guns while intimidating players from above with their flying saucers and Abductors, the aliens seemed insurmountable for many weeks.

The Stalemate

In the first few weeks following the takeover by The Last Reality, the island entered a period of prolonged tension. The aliens had a vise-grip on the people of Apollo, while the Imagined Order didn’t seem equipped to understand their plans–never mind thwart them. We know from her battle pass loading screen that Doctor Slone had trained her whole life, in body and mind, to find herself in her role as IO leader. She was made for this. So little by little, she plotted.

With the player’s help, Slone conducted a number of surveillance missions for several weeks. She set up dead drops in Weeping Woods to communicate clandestinely. She set up scanning devices around places like Retail Row to spy on the aliens remotely. She exhausted every resource to learn more about The Last Reality. If she could figure out who they were, she could figure out what their weakness is, or so she seemed to think.

For several weeks, her efforts were not in vain. The existence of new weapons such as the Plasma Cannon, the Grab-itron, and the Prop-ifier were each the result of Slone’s studious efforts. The IO was able to translate the alien technology, like their saucers’ offensive weapons and their shape-shifting abilities, into new handheld firearms for their own counterattacks. But these weapons would not cast out the aliens permanently, especially with a traitor in the midst.

The Traitor

Just as Slone was making progress gathering more intel on the aliens, she became aware of a possible mole within the Imagined Order’s ranks. With the player’s help, Slone investigated this leak, hoping she could patch it before it sank her proverbial ship. After closely inspecting all of her underlings, it was revealed that Maven was the mole who had been aiding the aliens with their mission of total dominance over Apollo. It’s bad enough that characters like Sunny were throwing pro-invasion parties all season long at Believer Beach, but Maven had direct access to the IO’s inner workings. That’s a whole other level of disloyalty.

Interestingly, Slone did unmask the mole successfully back in July, but appears to have withheld that knowledge from Maven herself, who has continued her operations out of the dish station near Craggy Cliffs. Only this week will players finally confront the mole according to the Week 14 challenges. It seems Slone turned her security flaw into an advantage, perhaps feeding Maven faulty intel that she knew would be passed on to the alien overlords. Slone later went on to woo Joey, another double agent, turning her into a triple agent. With Joey’s newfound allegiance and her own internal leaks patched up, Slone put her long-stewing plan into action.

The Abductions And The Countermeasure

The aliens ramped up their efforts and began outright abducting not just loopers, but entire buildings. First it was Slurpy Swamp, then it was Coral Castle. In both cases, the regions that once hosted signature places of interest such as the Slurp factory and Atlantian towers were swept up into the Mothership. Their next target is Corny Complex, and it’s being swallowed up by the tractor beam of the Mothership this very week.

What the aliens don’t seem to know, however, is that Slone likes it that way. Under Corny Complex is the IO headquarters, and it’s there where she developed and built the Countermeasure Device. This curiously named object has not yet revealed its function, though many Fortnite lore chasers suspect it’s a Trojan Horse-like bomb that the aliens will unwittingly detonate after abducting it this week. One thing is for sure: The Countermeasure Device is very much meant to be abducted. What comes next is anyone’s guess. It’s also exactly what players will take part in during Operation: Sky Fire, the season finale interactive event that begins this Sunday, September 12 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET.

Fortnite Season 8

We expect the Sky Fire finale to lead directly into Fortnite Season 8, and perhaps more than usual. Typically, seasons of Fortnite are only loosely related to one another–the overarching story is there but themes and characters are largely refreshed completely. But a recent tease by Donald Mustard indicates Season 8 might be more of a sequel than a refresh. Recently asked to describe the upcoming season in one word, Epic’s Chief Creative Officer instead gave three: “The Last Reality.”

Given that’s the name of the alien civilization in Fortnite, that suggests we haven’t seen the last of the aliens. What could that mean for Operation: Sky Fire? Where did these aliens come from? Is Farmer Steel still sitting in his bunker eating corn cobs? There’s still so much to learn, and in due time we’ll begin to piece together a whole new set of clues and plot points. Fortnite Season 8 is upon us.