Super Changes
Super Changes
E111: Apex Legends: Revelry Updates and Nintendo Direct Announcements.
Good morning gamers! Apex Legends: Revelry (aka, season 16) is right around the corner and after 4 years of being one of the top Battle Royales, it’s time for a change. According to EA, the game has underperformed due to “challenging market dynamics” but they’re committed to continuously evolving the game. Respawn’s senior design director Evan Nikolich said that the future of Apex Legends is about “building on the core game” while evolving and reacting to the community, and adding new content. There will never be an Apex Legends 2.
Season 16 kickstarts a year of major changes for Apex Legends - including,
Remastered Legend Classes: Instead of adding a new Legend this season, Respawn has completely reworked the class system dividing existing Legends into 5 categories (Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller and Support). Each of these classes introduces an associated gameplay perk which gives Legends a class-specific ability.
Team Deathmatch will be replacing Arenas as a limited time mode. It’s a 6v6 mode where teams need to win 2 rounds of 30 kills.
The new weapon for season 16 is the ‘Nemesis’ burst assault rifle. It requires energy ammo, and the bursts will fire faster the longer you shoot (until it's automatic).
Maps will be on a 24-hour rotation. This season’s map pool includes Broken Moon, Storm Point and World’s Edge.
Various Legends (Bloodhound, Seer, Horizon, Wraith, Pathfinder, Mirage, Lifeline, Valkyrie) are being rebalanced.
Assault Rifles are getting their hip-fire accuracy reduced, the R301 is getting a damage nerf and shotguns will have larger projectile zones at close range.
Nintendo Direct- February
Last week, Nintendo held their February Nintendo Direct showcase with some exciting announcements. They confirmed rumours and release dates for several upcoming games.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is still set to be released on May 12th. Nintendo shared a new trailer and confirmed the release date, which allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief. Nintendo has discounted The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the DLC until February 19th.
Metroid Prime Remastered is now available on the Nintendo Switch. Players will be able to explore Tallon IV from the perspective of Samus Aran while using new dual-stick controls or the traditional ones. The game was initially released on November 18th, 2002.
Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games are now available on Nintendo Switch Online. The catalogue of games include Tetris, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and more.
Other announcement from the Nintendo Direct include,
Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass is now available. The 1st Wave includes a version of Inkopolis from the original Splatoon game and Wave 2 is an all-new single player campaign.
Disney Illusion Island is a new co-op 2D platformer adventure game for 1-4 players launching for the Nintendo Switch on July 28th.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is coming to Nintendo Switch on April 21st.
Esports Corner
We’d like to dedicate this week’s Esports Corner to Valorant Game Changers player Gizem 'Luie' Harmankaya who sadly passed away in the Turkey-Syria earthquake disaster. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones. Rest in peace.
Ian “Crimsix” Porter, the most successful Call of Duty professional of all time came out of retirement to represent FaZe Clan as a sim racer in this past weekend's ESL R1 Racing League. The event took place in Katowice, Poland where 12 teams competed on a closed beta version of Rennsport, a racing game rumored to be “the future of virtual racing”. Due to FaZe's recent partnership with Porsche, it was expected to see Crimsix represent the car brand at the event.
The Overwatch League’s sixth season is set to officially begin on April 27th and Blizzard is putting a lot of focus on welcoming more competitors and creating more opportunity for Overwatch Contenders teams. The structure will remain divided into East and West regions, and the season will be split into Spring and Summer stages where each will conclude with a Global Lan event, Midseason Madness in June and Grand Finals in October. The East will allow Contenders teams to qualify for Overwatch League Play while the West will host a Pro-Am tournament where Franchised Teams and Pro-Am teams will compete against each other. League standings will focus on overall records in regional qualifiers rather than League Points.
Owning and operating a professional esports team is an expensive task. Unfortunately, two of the world's most recognizable orgs have decided to cease operations in certain titles.
Fnatic have temporarily withdrawn from the Dota Pro Circuit after reflecting on the “sustainability and future of the title” for the brand. They’re currently looking for a new team to take over their spot and roster.
TSM is reportedly leaving Rainbow Six: Siege’s North American League less than a year after being crowned World Champions at the 2022 Six Invitational.
Gaming Roundup
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has publicly accused Sony of “trying to sabotage” Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition.
Electronic Arts Motive Studio has started the development of their single-player Iron Man game in collaboration with Marvel Games.
The Last of Us Part III is reportedly in development at Naughty Dog despite Neil Druckmann saying they would only do it if they created a compelling story.
Fable is reportedly undergoing regular game playthroughs and build reviews. Playground Games producer Vijay Gill shared the update on LinkedIn.
Call of Duty is reportedly getting a full standalone game release in 2023. The game will be deeply rooted within the Modern Warfare 2 universe.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has released nine minutes of gameplay providing a deeper look at what to expect come the release later this year.
Alan Wake II is reportedly in full production and is playable from start to finish, the game will soon have all the content in place.
Game Review - Hogwarts Legacy
Gryffindor. Slytherin. Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff. One of a wizard's biggest decisions is only the start of your journey in Hogwarts Legacy. The game offers everything a Harry Potter fan needs from a wizarding world; the freedom to explore a highly detailed Hogwarts Castle, the ability to master spells with no limitations, a storyline free from the restraints of the novels/movies, being able to fly around on your broomstick and the ability to control your own experience.
What makes Hogwarts Legacy truly special is its ability to immerse players into its familiar, yet foreign, magical world. Visiting locations you’ve seen in the films, or meeting characters from Hogwarts past that you’ve read about in the books adds familiarity to the experience. The storyline is long and engaging, the side quests add tons of extra things to do, and the fearsome creatures force you to be prepared for battle at a moment's notice. Although we can’t stop obsessing over the beauty of the world, one of our most exciting highlights is the combat system. Chaining spells together to attack, dodge, and manipulate your opponent is challenging, but extremely fun and rewarding. The system forces you to think quickly and rewards combo creativity as you unlock Talent Tree perks.
Hogwarts Legacy has surpassed our expectations in the best ways possible. We stand with critics in condemning J.K Rowling for her actions towards those in the LGBTQ+ community, however, we’re rating this game out of respect for the talented individuals who worked on the game and don’t share her inexcusable views.
To all of our magic-yielding Wizard friends, we give Hogwarts Legacy a rating of A.
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