Fixing Their Mistakes
Fixing Their Mistakes
E62: Cyberpunk 2077 gets a Next-Gen Update.
Good Morning Gamers! The time has finally come for Cyberpunk 2077 to re-launch. CD Projekt RED has released a next-gen optimized version of the game for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Additionally, a major patch aimed at addressing some of the game's long-standing issues was released alongside the next-gen update. Here are the highlights,
Next-Gen Update
Graphics: 60fps resolution graphics with dynamic 4k scaling (Xbox Series S gets 1440p/30fps) and 30fps ray-tracing
Performance: Faster loading times and multiple back-end technical improvements
Features: Native achievement support and PS5 adaptive trigger integration
Cost: Free for players who already own the game or regular price as a standalone purchase
Patch 1.5
Improved Combat AI and Crowd Behaviour making NPCs much more reactive to player actions and choices
New driving mechanics (car and motorcycle driving, new braking system, car tuning)
A completely reworked perks tree that removes useless abilities/introduces new ones
Rebalanced game economy, player damage and game difficulty
New weapons (and attachments), loot and apartments
Improved appearance customization
Additional open-world, quest, UI and performance stability improvements
Battlefield 2042 - The Downfall
Last week Electronic Arts held a company wide meeting to provide quarterly updates and to evaluate their past, present and future endeavours. According to Tom Henderson, the main focus of the call was to discuss Battlefield 2042 and its future.
Laura Miele, EA’s Chief Studios Officer said that EA DICE struggled with implementing the game on a new engine, and that the global pandemic, working from home and other unique variables hindered development. Henderson says Halo Infinite’s surprise multiplayer release was also cited as a reason for Battlefield 2042’s poor reception.
Release Dates
Battlefield 2042 released on November 12, 2021 for PlayStation, Xbox and PC
Halo Infinite Multiplayer released on November 15, 2021 for Xbox and PC
EA Communications VP John Reseburg dismissed these claims in a statement to PC Gamer saying “These stories are not accurately capturing the discussion and the context, which was an in-depth and very humble internal conversation about the recent Battlefield launch”.
Esports Corner
🥇Congratulations to Cloud9 for winning the Halo Championship Series Anaheim 2022 and to TSM for winning the Six Invitational Rainbow Six World Championships.
Fortnite Championship Series x BLAST
BLAST has partnered with Epic Games to produce the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) for the entire FNCS Chapter 3 broadcast schedule. February and March will host Season 1 of FNCS Chapter 3, featuring a total prize pool of more than $3M up for grabs. BLAST previously produced the FNCS Grand Royale and FNCS All-Star Showdown events, but considers this new venture as one of their biggest projects since entering CS:GO.
Overwatch Season 5
Blizzard has finally announced that the 5th season of the Overwatch League will officially start on May 5th. This announcement comes a few days after Activision Blizzard’s Head of Esports Brandon Snow announced his departure from the company. The upcoming season features a variety of major changes to the leagues competitive landscape including a shift to a new 5v5 format with a minimum of 24 regular-season matches, a new game mode called Push (replaces Assault mode), a revamped league point system and the reintroduction of the fan-favorite mid-season tournaments with $1M prize pools.
Dota 2 is Back!
After a tiresome two year wait, Dota 2 tournaments are finally permitting live audience attendance starting with ESL One Stockholm. The event will be hosted between May 20-22 at the Hovet Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. It features 18 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams competing for the $500k grand prize and a chance to earn DPC points towards qualification for The International 11. The ESL One Stockholm will conclude this season’s Dota Pro Circuit: Spring Tour.
Gaming Roundup
The Last Of Us TV series is now expected to be released in 2023. According to HBO Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys, “They are still shooting in Canada”.
Walton Goggins will star in Amazon’s TV series adaptation of Fallout. The series, in association with Bethesda, is set to begin production in 2022.
Bloodborne is not a priority at FromSoftware according to a gaming industry insider; that includes remasters, remakes, sequels and PC ports.
Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot says they can remain independent but “if there was an offer to buy them, the board of directors would of course review it”.
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the game director of Witcher 3, has formed a studio called Rebel Wolves. Their first game is a AAA story-driven dark fantasy RPG.
Ruben Fleischer, the director of the Uncharted movie would like to direct an adaptation of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End’s car chase if there is a sequel.
Platinum Games is open to being acquired, if they can keep their creative freedom. Analysts say Microsoft won’t be able to acquire the Japanese studio.
Netflix announced that they’ve partnered with 2K and Take-Two Interactive to make a movie based on the Bioshock franchise.
Call of Duty: Warzone Season Two kicked off last week with new loot, new points of interest, new traps and some features from other battle royales.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the first Ubisoft game to hit the $1 billion revenue mark according to their latest financial reports.
Game Review - Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West is finally here and with it comes an awesome initiative from Sony called “Play and Plant”. For every gamer who unlocks the “Reached the Daunt” trophy prior to March 25th, Sony will plant one tree across three locations in the United States.
The game is beautiful but let’s be clear, it is definitely a PS4 game with PS5 performance improvements. Guerrilla Games continues to cement their place in the gaming industry as they perfectly executed a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn. In the continuation of Aloy’s journey you should expect improved combat, exploration and narration. In Horizon Zero Dawn the side quests felt like a chore, however, the side quests are now much more engaging.
Play-style often varies from player to player but you’ll have a wide variety of options ranging from stealthy to all out attack. Players should definitely take their time and enjoy the experience as it could take anywhere from 40 to 60 hours to complete the game in its entirety. We can’t say enough good things about this game, it’s great.
We give Horizon Forbidden West a score of A.
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