Warning: Full spoilers for The Flash Season 5, Episode 16 below. If you need a refresher on where we left off, check out our review for Season 5, Episode 15.
This week’s Flash episode may be a classic example of “too little, too late.” The season has been perpetually bogged down by the underwhelming Cicada storyline – one that started off well enough but quickly proved it didn’t have the legs to last an entire year. Had “Failure is an Orphan” come along in November or December, that would be one thing. But to be this deep into Season 5 and see the Cicada conflict only beginning to kick into gear is frustrating, to say the least.
Google is set to make a big-time gaming announcement next week during the Game Developers Conference, and now the company has released a teaser video.
Google plans to reveal its “vision for the future of gaming” during the March 19 event, and this teaser video may contain some initial clues. As you can see, it appears to reference a number of different game genres, including sports, racing, action, fantasy, and others. The suggestion could be that Google’s new gaming platform would be a place for all of them.
Whatever the case, we’ll learn more soon. The event is scheduled for 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on March 19. The event will be streamed live, and GameSpot will bring you all the news from the show as it happens.
One part of Google’s reveal might be related to Project Stream, the company’s ambitious game-streaming platform. Last year, Google partnered with Ubisoft to make Assassin’s Creed Odyssey playable in a browser. There are also rumors about Google’s “Project Yeti,” which could be the company’s take on a home console.
Halo developer 343 Industries made some big Halo announcements today, and excited fans responded by sending pizza to the studio. Now, the developer has pleaded with fans to please stop sending pizza. Community manager Brian Jarrard wrote on Twitter that he and the studio are appreciative, but it’s just too much pizza.
“The Halo community is awesome. We’re excited, too! Please don’t send any more pizzas to 343 Industries,” Jarrard said. “The building receptionist isn’t here, so it’s getting logistically challenging and we really don’t want to see food go to waste.”
The Halo community is awesome. We’re excited, too! Please, don’t send anymore pizzas to 343 Industries. The building receptionist isn’t here so it’s getting logistically challenging and we really don’t want to see food to go waste.
Why the pizza? Before all the big Halo reveals today, Jarrard tweeted the pizza emoji for some reason, and now people are running with it and flooding 343’s offices with pizza.
Here is a visual rundown of some of the pizzas that 343 received today:
MOAR. Unknown sender, but thank you. Seriously folks, we love the gesture but raise a slice and let’s celebrate together! (plz don’t send tons of pizzas 😝) pic.twitter.com/SsMtJI0nyo
Annnnd another one. Thank you anonymous pizza donator. I think pineapple and jalapeño is a troll but it’s some on the teams favorite?! Please we don’t need more pizza. We good. pic.twitter.com/KVQKGCzl5F
Some of Microsoft’s announcements today included Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC and Halo: Reach being added to the collection. Those are two things that fans have been requesting for a long time, so it’s understandable that there would be significant excitement over the announcements.
Microsoft held its latest Inside Xbox video broadcast today, and it was packed with news. In the space of just an hour, Microsoft made a series of big-time announcements, including Halo: The Master Chief Collection coming PC and adding Halo: Reach, the next big Xbox Game Pass game, a new Xbox One controller design/color, and more.
We’ve rounded up all the big news in once place here to give you a quick look at all the big news announced during the Inside Xbox briefing. While the broadcast had a lot of big news, it didn’t confirm the rumoured disc-free Xbox One or the rumoured launch of Xbox Game Pass for PC. Looks like we’ll have to wait to learn more about those topics.
With that out of the way, here is a rundown of all the big news from Microsoft’s Inside Xbox stream:
Halo: The Master Chief Collection For PC
Confirming earlier rumours and reports, Microsoft officially confirmed that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC. It’ll launch later this year on Steam and the Microsoft Store, and the release structure is anything but traditional. Microsoft is releasing each title within the package individually for download and purchase, beginning with Halo: Reach. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed pricing yet, but the entire package on Xbox One sells for $30, so somewhere in that are seems likely for PC. For more, check out these stories:
Halo: Reach Coming To Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Responding to fans’ requests, Microsoft announced that Bungie’s 2010 game Halo: Reach, will join The Master Chief Collection at some point down the road. It’ll be available on Xbox One and the newly announced PC edition. This includes the campaign and multiplayer elements, including Forge and Theatre, along with the fan-favourite Firefight mode. On Xbox One, the multiplayer (including Forge and Theatre) is free, while Microsoft will charge for the campaign and Firefight mode–pricing has yet to be divulged. Xbox Game Pass members, however, will seemingly get the entire package at no extra cost. It’s less clear how it’ll all work on PC, but campaign, multiplayer, and Firefight are coming. Take a look at the story linked below to find out everything we know so far.
A New Xbox One Controller
The Phantom White Special Edition controller was announced during the Inside Xbox briefing. The $70 USD controller goes on sale in April worldwide. Its described as blending “luxury and sci-fi,” whatever that means. You can see it close up in the story linked below.
Minecraft For Xbox Game Pass
One of the biggest games on Earth, Minecraft, is coming to the Xbox Game Pass library on April 4. That’s big news in its own right, as it expands the already-massive sandbox game’s reach further still. It also becomes just the latest family-friendly title in the catalog.
A New Look At Project xCloud
One of the other big reveals during the Inside Xbox stream was a new look at Microsoft’s ambitious game-streaming technology, Project xCloud. The game lets you stream titles directly to a device connected to the internet, which allows you to play high-end games on a low-spec device because the heavy lifting is happening in the cloud. Forza Horizon 4 was shown running on an Android-based phone connected wirelessly to an Xbox One controller. Microsoft also confirmed that public trials for xCloud–or whatever official name Microsoft decides to give the platform–will begin later this year.
Video game industry veteran Jade Raymond, who produced the original Assassin’s Creed before joining EA where she worked on Star Wars, has landed a new job at Google.
Raymond announced on Twitter today that she’s working at Google as a vice president. That’s all she had to say on the matter, so it’s unclear exactly what she’s doing at Google.
Google operates a gaming business with its Project Stream technology that is set to be formally unveiled next during the Game Developers Conference. Raymond would be at least Google’s second high-profile gaming hire, following former PlayStation and Xbox boss Phil Harrison who joined Google as a VP in January 2018.
I’m excited to finally be able to share that I have joined Google as VP!
In her most recent position at EA, Raymond served as senior vice president group general manager of Motive Studios. In that role, Raymond was responsible for leading a new business unit and studio team centered on making new IP and action games. She was also responsible for leading the strategy around EA’s new Star Wars games. She left EA in October 2018.
As for Google’s GDC event, the company plans to unveil its “vision for the future of gaming”–and it could be related to streaming. In 2018, Google partnered with Ubisoft to test its Project Stream technology that made Assassin’s Creed Odyssey playable straight through a Google Chrome browser.
In other news, recent rumors have circulated regarding Google’s so-called “Project Yeti,” which is said to be its own take on the home console. It would focus on streaming, and may even have its own exclusive games, but the price and details are unknown.
ESPN Events has announced its first-ever ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship, which will be held in Houston, Texas this May.
Hundreds of schools across North America will soon compete in qualifiers hosted by Tespa and the Collegiate Star League, which will give winners the chance to compete in the live LAN semi-finals and championship that will take place May 10-12 at the George R Brown Convention Center Comicpalooza weekend, held by ESPN Events.
Games announced for the event include Overwatch, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Hearthstone, StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm. Finalists will compete for scholarships, and portions of the qualifying rounds and the LAN championship will be streamed globally on various platforms.
During the latest Inside Xbox livestream, Microsoft’s Project xCloud tech was shown off in action. Project xCloud allows games to be streamed directly to devices via hardware in remote data centers, letting you play games through a sufficiently high-speed internet connection. Specifically, Forza Horizon 4 was shown running on an Android-based phone connected wirelessly to an Xbox One controller.
Xbox’s head of gaming cloud Kareem Choudhry said that public trials for Project xCloud will begin this year, though a specific timing window was not given. Not much else was said in terms of details, but Microsoft dug into the tech a bit last year with a video discussing how the tech works. At E3 2018, head of Xbox Phil Spencer made mention of game streaming during the company’s keynote presentation, and stressed that the tech will deliver “console-quality gaming on any device.”
Cloud-based gaming is a fairly new and complex technology, and it’s a good thing we have you covered; be sure to check out our detailed explainer on everything you need to know about cloud gaming.
Recently, I reviewed the cloud-based streaming service called Shadow and its set-top box Shadow Ghost. The service gives you access to a powerful gaming PC and streams the video feed of that PC to any device that can run the Shadow application. While it had some issues, Shadow worked especially well for non-competitive gaming experiences.
Inside Xbox had a few other big stories. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is set to launch on PC through a gradual rollout starting later this year with each game in the package sold separately. Halo: Reach will be the first of the series’ lineup to hit the PC. Reach will also come to the Xbox One version of the collection with multiplayer available for existing owners; the campaign and Firefight mode will be separate paid DLC. Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to access all of the additional content when the update comes.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is currently available to play for those who purchased the Gold and Ultimate editions of the game. Because of the online nature of the game, GameSpot’s access privileges to The Division 2 are the same as those who have those editions, so we’re playing and experiencing concurrently to those players.
Below you’ll find some day-one impressions from me, who’ll be writing the final review. I plan to have a scored review-in-progress once I’ve completed the campaign and a final review once I’ve seen a substantial amount of what The Division 2 has to offer with its endgame content, including specializations, invaded missions, PvP, and the Dark Zones. We appreciate your patience as we dig deep into this huge game.
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Division 2 Early Access Gameplay
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I’ve only been to Washington DC once in my life, and it was a short visit. I spent the better part of the day wandering the National Mall before calling it a night and moving on the next day. I’ve now spent about the same amount of time in Massive Entertainment’s version of Washington DC, spending most of the first full day of The Division 2’s life getting my bearings on the world and steadily plugging away at the game’s campaign and side activities. But in both cases, my feelings about the place is the same: I really want to spend more time there.
The Division 2 goes like this: Months after the events of the first Division, chaos and disorder still plague what is left of the US, especially in the nation’s capital. Important personnel and agencies have withdrawn as the city is upturned by armed groups with malicious intent, while remaining civilians band together and struggle to survive and establish self-sufficiency. As a secret sleeper agent of the Strategic Homeland Division, you’ve been tasked with aiding Washington’s civilian militia to regain a hold on law, order, and society.
It’s all a bit overwhelming at first, even for someone who played a lot of The Division. Several smaller things have been added to the sequel, which translates to a barrage of mission and tutorial popups for the first few hours. It’s also tough to initially get your head around the convoluted UI. But once you get a handle on the flow of progression, it doesn’t take long to get completely sucked in.
What strikes me most about The Division 2 is how much its world feels like a thoroughly cohesive, living place. Settlements, the hubs where you craft, shop, and track your progression, are believably buzzing with activity. After establishing your own base of operations at the White House, the first settlement you unlock is a multi-leveled community built around the rooftop of Washington’s National Theatre and its surrounding buildings. At first, it’s a little frustrating trying to make your way around it and track down the services you need–there’s a lot of seemingly unimportant spaces you have to traverse. But those spaces go a long way in pushing this settlement into seeming like something that could feasibly work in real life, player convenience be damned. There are dedicated areas for the logistics of the settlement, NPCs seemingly doing a variety of chores, and generally a messy, makeshift nature to it all that feels genuinely thrown together and at risk of falling into disarray at the slightest breeze. It’s charming.
After completing roughly a third of the story missions, the plot of the game so far seems to be a relatively straightforward goal of increasing the militia’s capacity to fight back against aggressors by rescuing key personnel and property. You’ll do this by going into various Washington landmarks and gunning down a lot of people in main and side missions, helping individuals out in open-world activities, and gathering resources, all of which contribute to various settlement “projects” aimed at upgrading civilian operations.
Mechanically, this means you can craft better gear and get access to more kinds of vendors, but narratively, it means you get to see civilian settlements like the theatre gradually grow and become more livable, vibrant places. This could be in the form of more lights at night so it’s not so gloomy. The empty spaces might turn into gardens and rec areas where you can see people growing and serving food for others. The kids running around might get a dedicated place to play board and video games (they really love For Honor, apparently), all because you went out into the world, scavenged a bunch of materials, and brought them back for this specific purpose. The majority of these small improvements are ultimately superficial and non-functional, but the focus on them is a big factor in your own personal sense of growth, progress, and motivation.
Out in the open world, enemy gangs can be found wandering the streets, getting into scrapes, looting places, and generally trying to survive in their own right. Friendly NPC patrols also roam the streets and have real objectives of their own, which you can follow and assist them in. They’re optional vectors to help you engage in the world, but their ability to act of their own accord helps make the world intriguing.
The Division 2 also seamlessly integrates mission areas in the open-world map, regularly requiring you to traverse the streets to get to them. The game typically dumps a ton of missions on you at one time, encouraging you to spend more time in the world and return to settlements only when you’ve achieved a significant amount. Safe havens, the city streets, and the game’s activities are contiguous, which emphasizes the feeling of a sprawling world and a prolonged passage of time, and makes returning to settlements all the more pleasant. The Washington DC of The Division 2 feels like a very material one so far, one that I’m eager to explore.
Of course, The Division 2 isn’t just about building communities, it’s a game about shooting a lot of people with a lot of different guns. The game’s combat continues to revolve around RPG-style traits and damage numbers when calculating the result of a bullet hitting an enemy, but it’s notable that the time to take down a human enemy doesn’t feel as far-fetched as it did in the original Division. It can still take a couple of headshots to take down an unarmored opponent, but unless I’m using a weapon whose power level is unsuitable to the mission, enemies don’t feel like they can withstand an unreasonable amount of damage so far.
Instead, The Division 2 creates more difficult challenges with more elaborately armored opponents. There are certain enemy types who are visibly more protected than most, and these archetypes can definitely soak up a lot of damage. But there are new combat options implemented to help you deal with them, which demand that you be strategic: Focusing fire on a particular segment of an enemy’s armor will eventually break it, opening up a weak spot for higher levels of damage. That means even if you’re up against a heavily protected elite enemy, you can crack open their helmet with some diligence, and they can then go down with a few well-placed headshots.
Even after roughly ten hours, I’m still enjoying going up against the variety of enemy archetypes, which, combined with The Division’s focus on relentless gunfire and cover-based shooting, makes the game’s conflicts tense. There are a good mix of opponents to really keep you focused on what’s happening–each faction has soldiers dedicated to rushing your position, keeping you suppressed with sniper fire and flushing you out of cover, among other things. Soldiers will frequently attempt to flank you while your attention is diverted, and you can do the same to them.
Combat skills also add a fantastic vector of strategy to things–there are eight major skills in total, each with a few interesting variants in function and behavior. You’ll eventually be able to unlock everything, so experimentation and being flexible enough to balance your loadouts between skills and the types of guns you’re carrying is encouraged. As to the guns themselves, I’ve already come across an impressive variety of different weapons with distinct feels in the way they handle. I typically have a favored style of character build, but I’m encouraged to try out new weapons and skills as I come across them, and I think about how they might be used in tandem with everything else.
“Encouraging” is generally how I feel about The Division 2 at this point in time. It’s got a fantastic sense of place and progression, and the combat scenarios and skills continue to be interesting. There’s a lot of love, especially among the minor improvements–the small design decisions that make the act of finding and equipping loot so snappy and convenient, or the smart integration of per-mission multiplayer matchmaking that even lets you call upon other players in the middle of a mission. I haven’t personally hit any server issues or major bugs, just some humorous oddities, like a floating iPad entertaining two excited children.
But it’s only been a day, and I’ve only played for about ten hours. I’ve finished 27% of the primary missions and my character is level 12 out of a possible 30. A lot of my observations here might not be particularly groundbreaking if you spent a large amount of time with the original The Division or The Division 2 beta, but there’s still a lot of the campaign left to see, and an allegedly enormous endgame. It’s important that I take the time to get to that point and see everything for myself, and I’m eager to see whether The Division 2 will still have the chops to keep me hooked when I hit the level cap and stop having a story to chase. Back to sightseeing, for now.
