EA announced that the third Battlefield 1 expansion “Turning Tides” will be a two part release, with the first wave launching for Premium Pass holders on December 11. The first wave will contain the bulk of the expansion’s content. It will contain two maps, Cape Helles and Achibaba; the L-Class destroyer; six firearms; two melee weapons; and a new operation set during the 1915 amphibious invasion in Gallipoli. Since Premium Pass holders get a two week head start on expansions, “Turning Tides” will be available for purchase on its own starting December 25th. The second wave of content will be released some time in January, adding two new maps, the Royal Marines faction, and the C-Class airship. The January maps are Zeebrugge and Heligoland Blight.
EA had a few more announcements up their sleeve. First, Frontline mode is coming to Suez on November 27th. The next operation campaign will be Fall of Empires will run from November 22nd to December 6th. Additionally, EA will be running a free trial of the two previous expansions for Battlefield 1. “They Shall not Pass” and “In the Name of the Tsar” will be free to play from November 22nd to December 4th and again from December 8th-10th.
ESCAPE TO THE SUN IN EURO FISHING’S “LE LAC D’OR” DLC FROM DOVETAIL GAMES
CHATHAM, Kent – Nov. 21, 2017 – Winter is coming… but you don’t have to stay stuck indoors because of the weather. You can banish the festive blues by escaping to a gorgeous log cabin in the sunny French countryside courtesy of “Le Lac d’Or,” the latest DLC for Euro Fishing from Dovetail Games.
Surrounded by picturesque woodland and forest, this 25-acre venue is home to some of the largest fish seen in Euro Fishing to date. Lake records for Le Lac d’Or show that a 71lb carp and 126lb catfish are among some of the monsters that have been plucked from its waters, giving you the chance to break those records by hauling in enormous fish of your own. For the first time ever, Euro Fishing fans can also catch koi carp, a challenge that will push their fishing skills in exciting new ways.
It might look tranquil but don’t be fooled – “Le Lac d’Or” is a test for any serious angler.
“We’re really proud of what the team has achieved with ‘Le Lac d’Or,’” said Mark Greenway, Euro Fishing director at Dovetail Games. “Not only is it a fantastic holiday venue, with its log cabins and lush countryside, but the enormous fish will provide a challenge every angler will relish. We can’t wait to see if anyone catches the lake’s records and how they fare against the koi carp!”
The “Le Lac d’Or” DLC will be available on Tuesday, Nov. 21, on Windows PC, the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One for $10.99. However, if saving money is your thing, at the same time as launching “Le Lac d’Or,” Dovetail Games will release a new season pass featuring three DLC items, the first DLC being “Le Lac d’Or,” followed by two more DLCs to follow early in 2018. You can purchase the season pass for $24.99, saving $7.98 over the cost of the three individual DLCs altogether.
About Dovetail Games
Dovetail Games was launched in 2013. Previously trading as RailSimulator.com Ltd, the business launched in 2009 initially producing and marketing the PC game Train Simulator. Today Dovetail Games is responsible for developing train, flight and fishing simulation games for PC and leading consoles. http://www.dovetailgames.com.
Soldiers, assemble! The acclaimed Valkyria Chronicles series is making a return. Valkyria Chronicles 4 has been announced for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The release is aiming at 2018 for all three platforms in the USA and Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFxBBrDml0Y
The continent of Europa is being torn apart by the Second Europan War between the Atlantic Federation and the Autocratic Eastern Imperial Alliance. With defeat closing in on Federation, they decide to approve Operation Northern Cross, a desperate last attempt to capture the imperial capital and end the war. Commander Claude Wallace and his Squad E members are being sent on a mission to ensure the Federation’s success, fight through the waves of imperial soldiers and the terrifying Valkyria.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 promises a gripping story, immersive RPG gameplay, and some new visual enhancements. The CANVAS Aesthetics visual style has been overhauled and improved for the new generation of consoles. Inspired by watercolor compositions, it aims to bring us the dreamy-like, imaginative world. BLiTZ Battle System also makes a return, this time including a new Grenadier class. And last but not the least, Valkyria Chronicles 4 will once again employ the magic of composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, returning to provide the emotional orchestral soundtrack for the game.
Ubisoft has revealed new details about the final content drop entitled “Operation White Noise” for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and the upcoming Year 3 content. “Operation White Noise” consists of a new map and three new operators. The new map Mok Myeok Tower is set in South Korea and features a mix of cramped spaces and wide open areas with multiple levels..
Representing South Korea’s 707th Special Mission Battalion is Dokkaebi and Vigil. Dokkaebi is an attacker armed with a tablet that can hack into enemy smartphones, causing them to buzz out loud that must be disabled by the defender and locks them out of video surveillance. Echo is immune to Dokkaebi’s ability and Mute’s jammer will protect near by defenders. Additionally, when Dokkaebi is in the battle, dead defenders will drop their phones. Dokkaebi can hack the phones to get access to the defenders cameras.
Vigil is a defender whose Electronic Rendering Cloak makes him invisible to hacked cameras and drones. Due to his high speed, Vigil is hard to detect as the white blur he leaves on camera covers a lot of ground. His counters are Pulse, I.Q., and Jackal, who can all detect him in one way or another.
https://youtu.be/Q3RewRtx9Uc
The third and final operator of “Operation White Noise” is Zofia of the Polish GROM. Sister of Ela, Zofia is a frontline brawler-type attacker. Her special ability allows her to pick herself up from a downed state with one health point and a double barrel grenade launcher, with one barrel armed with impact grenades and the other with dual trigger concussion grenades that will detonate when either near a defender or after a set period of time. The dual trigger setting allows Zofia to bounce her concussion grenades off walls to disorient dug in defenders. Zofia is countered by her sister Ela, who is concussed time is halved.
“Operation White Noise” is now live on the Technical Test Realm on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
Ubisoft also revealed details about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 3 content. It all starts with “Operation Chimera,” which will introduce a new French and Russian Operator. The first major community co-op event is Outbreak, which will run for four weeks. Season two will add two new Italian GIS operators and a new map set in Italy. The second major co-op event will run in season three, which will launch alongside a new British operator from Scotland Yard and American Delta Force operator. Year 3 will be capped off with two new operators from Morocco and a new map set in the African nation.
As if EA wasn’t in enough trouble with angry fans criticizing the company for the implementation of loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront II. The Wall Street Journal’s sources are reporting that Disney is none too pleased about EA’s loot box system. It seems that Disney, the owner of Lucasfilm, is looking to avoid having one of their biggest franchises they heavily market to children be associated with accusations of gambling. Belgium’s gambling commission has already targeted Battlefront II for investigation, according to Dutch media reports. The Wall Street Journal reports that the controversy has reached to the highest echelons of Disney’s leadership. EA received a call from Head of Consumer Products and Interactive Media Jimmy Pitaro expressing Disney’s disapproval. It appears that Disney’s fury was a main factor for EA when suspended micro-transactions last week.
EA originally implemented microtransactions instead of selling a season pass as a way to fund development for new content. The trouble all started when redditors realized that it would take over 40 hours of gameplay to unlock signature heroes like Darth Vader after playing the beta. EA attempted to rebalance the economy by slashing prices by 75%, before temporarily pulling the plug on microtransactions last Thursday.
They always say better late than never. THQ Nordic is taking that to heart by launching the Titan Quest Ragnarok expansion ten years after the launch of Immortal Throne and 11 years after the RPG‘s original release. The new expansion requires Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, which was distributed as a free upgrade to all Titan Quest owners on Steam last year. Titan Quest Ragnarok is priced at $19.99 USD, but a 25% launch sale on Steam is running until November 24th. For those who don’t own the base game yet, Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, which contains Titan Quest and the Immortal Throne expansion, is also 80% off on Steam.
Titan Quest Ragnarok adds a fifth act to the saga. Players will venture to northern Europe, where they will encounter the the Celts, the Germans, and the Vikings, along with their deities. While THQ Nordic says the new act is the largest of the five, the development team has also gone back to the previous four to add new items and secret areas. The expansion is adding a tenth mastery for existing classes and raises the level cap to 85. Ragnarok introduces Runemaster class, who uses both brute force and magical skill to destroy everything in their path. In addition to the new content, Ragnarok upgrades the game’s graphics and user experience to modernize the title.
The poster surpassed the previous auction record of $478,000 which was also set (twice) by Heritage Auctions. Heritage had just sold the only known surviving Italian issue movie poster from 1946 for Casablanca in July 2017, which matched their own previous world record from November 2014 for an only-known 1927 copy of the poster for London After Midnight.
This particular poster style from Dracula depicts the menacing visage of actor Bela Lugosi, who transformed the character into the now-famous Universal Monster. Recently discovered in the San Diego, California, collection of a noted film historian, collectors and experts consider it one of the most desirable horror movie posters ever produced.
The family of its longtime owner, Lt. Col. George J. Mitchell, Jr., an Associate Member of the American Society of Cinematographers, placed the poster up for auction. Mitchell had owned the poster since the 1950s.
“The reason my dad purchased the poster is because he loved horror films. He was drawn to the Bela Lugosi poster because it brought back childhood memories of seeing the film when it was first released,” Mitchell’s son, Arthur Mitchell said. “He remembered going to the theater … and remembered that there was an ambulance stationed in the lobby, in case anyone was so scared they needed medical attention.”
The elder Mitchell was a longtime cinematographer and photographer, who after World War II and a 20-year career in the U.S. Army, started a small film production company in San Diego, and did video work for AFL and NFL Films, the San Diego Zoo and training films for assorted branches of the military.
“It is a matter of opinion, but this poster probably is the most beautiful of all of the styles,” Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith said, “and one of only two styles that pictures Bela Lugosi in realistic terms or a faithful rendering – the other is a photographic image.”
Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over one million registered bidder-members, and searchable free archives of four million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.
CYBERPUNK SHOOTER ‘RUINER’ UPLOADS NEW BRUTAL CONTENT IN ‘SAVAGE UPDATE’
Available Now on PC, Coming Soon to Xbox One and PlayStation 4
Rengkok – Developer Reikon Games have released a free update to their critically-acclaimed shooter RUINER that includes the brutal New Game+ and Speedrun modes alongside new weapons, outfits, and all-new finishing moves. RUINER is 33 percent off on Steam Nov. 20 – 22 to celebrate the new additions.
RUINER’s new Savage Update includes several heart-pounding new additions for seasoned killers and gameplay tweaks for a more approachable RUINER for new citizens of Rengkok. The New Game+ mode ratchets up the intensity with a stroll through RUINER that will challenge even the best player, while the new Speedrun mode adds in online leaderboards while removing everything but the action – pure combat as fast as possible.
The new update also includes ten new weapons to bring into battle alongside the new RUINER Kills that add in violent crescendos to complete your kills with stylish gore. New RUINER outfits complete the fresh look, allowing players to change their player model as well. The celebrated soundtrack also receives two additional tracks by Sidewalks & Skeletons.
If you or someone you love is looking to become an unstoppable psychopath with a super sweet video helmet strapped to their face, please visit ruinergame.com and follow @RuinerGame on Twitter.
MASSIVE LEGION OF HEROES UPDATE BREATHES FRESH LIFE INTO BELOVED MOBILE MMO
Intense Demigod Raids, Innovative Challenges and More Beckon New and Experienced Players to Return to Fan-Favorite Game on Android
Seoul – Nov. 20, 2017 – Mobile MMO players can explore a vast and beautifully crafted world filled with epic fantasy in the latest content update for Legion of Heroes, the sprawling free-to-play mobile massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) from NEXON Korea Corporation, subsidiary of NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. The significant update offers vigorous adventure for the fan-favorite game, offering hours of new content and features, including intense Demigod Raids, innovative Challenge and Artifact systems, Hero Ranks and more. The highly-anticipated update is available today on Android.
Launched in 2014, Legion of Heroes has amassed a loyal fanbase where thousands of dedicated players traverse the game’s massive 3D world in search of valuable items and intense, real-time action. New and experienced players can collect more than 100 powerful heroes, and team-up with others from around the world to band together and overcome treacherous raids in the Chaos Abyss, or compete in thrilling open-world PvP combat in the Coliseum Arena. The latest content update includes several new features and gameplay additions, such as:
New Artifact System – Artifacts are new equipable items that are randomly obtained by players using Artifact Shards. As artifacts evolve, the appearance of hero’s main weapons will change, becoming more polished and powerful;
Innovative Challenge System – Challenge missions help new and returning players adapt to the game’s unique mechanics and fundamental gameplay;
Exhilarating Demigod Raids – Battle in-game Demigods that possess devastating power. Players must articulate careful strategies and tactics to defeat overwhelming Demigods and obtain valuable rewards;
Additional Hero Ranks – Experienced players who reach the Mythic EX Hero rank, and who have completed Limit Break and reached the maximum level, can ascend to Rank EX+. Players can also fuse Legendary and Mythic Heroes, or Doppelganger Queens to reach the next rank;
Challenging Quest Progressions – Complete the main Story Mode to unlock the game’s Normal and Hard modes. In-game monsters grow stronger as players progress through each level of difficulty, and are compensated with increasingly powerful rewards and Stars for each level concluded;
Bounty Hunt Selection – The new Bounty Hunt system allows players to choose specific bosses with attached challenges and rewards. Players can also select the Bounty Hunt difficulty.
The Legion of Heroes content update is available worldwide today. Additional information for members of the press:
About NEXON Co. Ltd. NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions and the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently services nearly 100 titles in more than 190 countries. The Company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The yearly Call of Duty game is upon us, with this year following the trend of going back in time. Call of Duty: WWII returns to the franchise’s roots as a World War II shooter. The single player campaign focuses on the American’s push from D-Day all the way to the Rhine. On the multiplayer side, WWII goes back to the simpler gameplay from the early Modern Warfare era.
Story
Warning, spoilers ahead
Call of Duty: WWII follows Red Daniels, a young farm boy from Texas who finds himself in the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army as the Allied Forces makes its push on D-Day. It is a bit disappointing to see Sledgehammer Games go back to the over-covered Normandy invasion. The battleground is overdone to the point that 10,000 years from now, archaeologists might think that the Normandy invasion was the entirety of World War II. Much like the setting, the writers do not stray too far off the beaten path for the plot. The game feels like the standard WWII film, complete with all the character tropes. Pierson serves as an excellent antagonist in the game, but it all goes off the rails with the last-minute rehabilitation of his character with a good speech from Daniels. It all feels a little too cliché, too easy, and too unrealistic for my taste. However, after so many super-elite special ops stories coming out of the Call of Duty franchise since Modern Warfare 2, I actually like the return to the grittier, slightly more down to earth plot of WWII. Sure, it isn’t particularly deep, but it still makes for a solid war movie.
Gameplay
Call of Duty: WWII follows the same setup of the last few iterations with three distinct portions of the game: the single player campaign, multiplayer, and the co-operative Nazi Zombie mode. The single player campaign breaks from the same FPS convention started by Call of Duty by returning to non-regenerating health pools. It’s not as punishing as it sounds. Players store up to four health packs on their character and can replenish their supply by either picking up packs on the floor or triggering Zussman’s squad ability for extra supplies. I like the new health system. Since squad abilities have a cooldown between uses, the new health system forces players to be a little more careful, without being nearly as punishing as the traditional health pack system from two decades ago. While the ammo, health pack, and grenade replenishing squad abilities are a helpful addition, I found most of the time the other abilities were either useless, like the spot ability, or was just too much of a hassle to bother with, like the smoke markers for mortar strikes.
The single player campaign offers all the trappings of a FPS campaign. The levels are linear in nature, but feature a good mix of claustrophobic room-to-room close quarter battles and large epic set pieces, with a few sniper/rail shooter sections thrown in. Much like previous Call of Duty titles, there are several levels that also have players controlling tanks and planes. I noticed a greater emphasis on stealth sections in WWII. I really loved the design of the first half of the Liberation level. The memorization aspect of the level to protect your cover identity was a neat surprise from a series more known for Michael Bay-type action. In general, the implementation of the stealth mechanics was a bit simplistic as enemies had some unreal lines of sight and players had little option for distracting enemies in their path.
The PC controls are a bit of a mixed bag. The regular infantry controls are excellent. Everything is tight, responsive, and well thought out. My continuing pet peeve of multiplayer scorestreaks being individually bound to different is still on-going, but it’s a minor annoyance. The bigger issue lies in the mouse implementation. The sensitivity for vehicles and quick time events is abysmal. It feels as if the sensitivity is halved in comparison to the infantry. The mouse issues extend to smaller UI hiccups, like starred items in the multiplayer menu not disappearing unless they are selected with the arrow keys.
For better or for worse, Call of Duty: WWII is a return to simpler times. Bucking the trend of giving players more and more flexibility in creating classes in the past several iterations, WWII opts for a more rigid perk system with Divisions. Instead of players selecting all their individual perks, players select one of five divisions to give them a set of three perks and a special ability for a class of weapons. While Divisions can opt to equip a weapon outside of their specialty, but they lose out on the special ability. Players are allowed to choose one more perk for themselves no matter what Division they choose. Like every Call of Duty title, multiplayer has the full array of pistols, shotguns, SMGs, LMGs, launchers, and rifles. There are still some balancing issues to be ironed out, but nothing is absolutely broken. For me, all WWII is hitting all the right nostalgia buttons while still having its own personality.
The major addition to multiplayer is the new objective based War mode. One side is tasked with attacking a series of objectives, ranging from escorting a tank to planting a bomb, and the other defending. A half time, the roles reverse, and the winner is the team that pushed the furthest or fastest. I am a huge fan of objective based modes, and I think War is a good fit for Call of Duty. It’s a fast paced mode that mixes elements of existing object based modes that have been tried and true for years. It’s an excellent change of pace from the same repetitive action of other modes. My only issues is with the first section of the Operation Neptune map. NPCs that are meant to shield the attacking team’s advance seem to stop spawning after two minutes, leaving the last four minutes to be an dull, frustrating bloodbath for the attacking Americans.
The new social Headquarters area is a nice touch, though a bit unnecessary for the game. I like that it works as a firing range for players to test scorestreaks and weapons. I would have preferred that collecting new orders and mail didn’t require a visit to Headquarters, like the quartermaster and supply drop functions. It seems like an unnecessary load screen for the times I just want to collect my mail and orders so I can hop into a game ASAP.
Multiplayer has not gone without its growing pains. Serious issues have plagued the game since launch, causing dedicated servers to be taken offline for some time and players being unable to connect to the game. On the bright side, dedicated servers have since returned, and issues have been slowly ironed out.
This year’s zombie mission is one large map that gives players some vague objectives they need to figure out. To make things more interesting, there are also plenty of side objectives that players need to sort out for themselves. I like the single player tutorial that teaches players the basics of the mode. It’s one of those small things that I feel the mode has always needed.
Visuals
Call of Duty: WWII looks excellent. The cinematics look incredibly sharp, making it feel like we are soon approaching the point where we will have a hard time telling between live action and computer generated cutscenes. In game, the textures, models, and animations look solid. On the technical side, the game has all the in-depth customization options a good PC port should have, such as FOV sliders and separate resolution settings for display, rendering, and pre-T2X anti-aliasing. I didn’t encounter too many graphical issues, though I noticed the Gustav Cannon map always seems to run 10-15 FPS lower than other maps.
Audio
Call of Duty: WWII delivers a solid audio experience. The sound effects are all top notch. The game handles directional sound very well. The soundtrack is exactly what you expect from a war movie, with tense moments back with rubbing strings and epic film scores lifting up the big moments of the game. The voice acting is generally excellent. The only negative thing that comes to mind is that Olivia Durant of the Nazi Zombie co-op mode struggles to maintain her French accent at times.
Overall
Call of Duty is the FIFA of the FPS world. New versions come out every year that makes tinkers with the formula here or there, but rarely making a wild or radical change. Call of Duty: WWII doesn’t stray far from the formula for both Call of Duty or FPS shooters, but the return to the series roots of simpler times is welcomed indeed. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
