News:: Sleeves were nearly the death of Moira's animator, the fun as hell new Overwatch hero

Reaper, the king edge lord himself, is unabashedly my favorite character in Overwatch. I think his dark stylistic choices do a good job of balancing out some of the overly charismatic and bright characters, which are the ones you're going to see at nearly every cosplay convention and emblazoned on t-shirts.

He's also just fun to play. Out-flanking an entire enemy team and gunning them down feels great, even without having to resort to his ultimate, then retreating into the shadows makes for some awesome plays.

Moira might be a support, but I see a lot of the same shadowy hit-and-run type of play based on my time with her -- and I think she's going to work herself into my stable of choices.

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News:: Razer's new 'Overwatch' gear completes your D.Va cosplay

Are you into Overwatch as a broadcaster, looking to use Blizzard's new influencer-friendly features? Or are you a super fan who's played through every special event since the game released? Did you start playing the developer's more traditional MOBA, Heroes of the Storm because it added the pink mech-stylings of D.Va? Then you'll love this new gear from Razer, with an amazingly perfect D.va-styled headset, mouse and mousepad.

Via: Polygon

Source: Blizzard

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News:: I'll happily play Overwatch's new Blizzard World map in a rotation, but don't get too excited

Although Moira has already made some waves in terms of how I'm going to approach Overwatch (more on her soon), I didn't have quite the same reaction when playing Blizzard World, the upcoming map that doubles as an assault and payload level.

Although it's a well-crafted recreation of various facets of Blizzard culture, it doesn't really feel like the epic theme park that was portrayed in the opening ceremony. It has a real Call of Duty expansion map modus operandi (ha, way to scare away people, me) -- you know, the good Treyarch ones with the actual park maps on them, with themed zones? Yeah, those.

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News:: These new Blizzard skins for Overwatch are on point

To go along with its new Blizzard World map for Overwatch, Blizzard is also preparing a line of character skins that pay tribute to its legacy. I thought the map was a clever-enough idea, and I think it looks fine, but this... it's hard not to get over-excited about this. I need that Nova and and Sonya skin!

These outfits will be available in normal (non-event) loot boxes and, from the sound of it, will probably come to the game next year alongside Blizzard World. Check out these close-up pics from BlizzCon.

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News:: Of course Conor McGregor is on the cover of EA Sports UFC 3

Conor McGregor, the man who is guaranteed to sell the most copies of EA Sports UFC 3, is the cover athlete for EA Sports UFC 3. McGregor's highly marketable, with a wit as quick as his footwork. He's a walking soundbite who is also very good at hitting people in the face.

Earlier this week, I lobbied for Joanna Jedrzejczyk to grace the cover of EA Sports UFC 3. Many commenters (rightly) countered that Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson also deserves it. A hybrid cover featuring both of them would have been an extremely cool nod to the two most dominant fighters in UFC.

But it's not either Jedrzejczyk or Johnson. It's McGregor and it was always going to be McGregor. His image triggers a reaction in some folks. He is UFC to them. One cover has him looking fierce; the other more-expensive edition has him holding two belts as the UFC's only simultaneous multi-division champion. (He was stripped of one of those titles two weeks after winning it because UFC determined he had no intention of defending it in a timely manner.) Both covers are in the gallery below.

As for the first trailer, it's kind of an interesting look at all the intriguing sides of UFC. There's Mighty Mouse's incredible flying armbar takedown, and McGregor's spectacularly quick knockout of Jose Aldo. But there's equal time spent on press conference drama and weigh-in faux scuffles. This is the UFC experience, through and through.

EA Sports UFC 3 releases on February 2, 2018 on PS4 and Xbox One.

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News:: Someone on GameStop's Facebook page really loves loot boxes

I'm about to make a statement that everyone probably already knows. GameStop really likes loot boxes. Why wouldn't the United States' largest video game retailer love a predatory tactic meant to agitate consumers into acceptance? How do I know this? Well, one particular employee on the company's Facebook page has been handing out a serving of sass to people bold enough to voice their distaste.

Some users on Twitter have been pointing out how GameStop isn't content with hearing customers voice their concern over what loot boxes may be doing to the video game industry. I wasn't sure if any of this was true (since anything on the internet can be easily photoshopped or faked). Not wishing to rely solely on secondhand accounts, I took a trip over to the page myself and grabbed these screens before GameStop's PR steps in.

As you can see, according to the company representative, the idea of loot boxes falling from the sky is "a very smart tactic." Loot boxes are also comparable to Cracker Jacks, crane games, carnivals, and Coca-Cola's manipulative marketing from the 1920s. I'm not sure how those first three fit into the equation, but wouldn't the last one kind of prove the point that loot boxes are bad?

In a bizarre turn, the employee then goes on to berate how Cracker Jacks kind of sucked for tricking you into buying more boxes to get the toy you wanted. Putting aside how Cracker Jacks are a tangible object that you can eat and how you are guaranteed a physical item, why would you champion a sales tactic that you then turn around and detest? I think someone over at the social media department is just very confused and frustrated, which is certainly something I felt when I worked for GameStop.

The main thing to take from all of this is how GameStop is responding to its potential customers. Clearly the company doesn't care about your well being and would rather you fall for insidious marketing schemes. I can't say I'm surprised, but it is a little shocking to see the company be so open about it.

Nick Verge [Twitter]

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News:: 'WoW' add-on 'Battle for Azeroth' brings the series back to basics

Harkening back to the original Alliance vs Horde conflict that started it all, World of Warcraft's upcoming seventh expansion, "Battle for Azeroth," is set to bring new zones, races, armor and a massive 20-player cooperative battlefront to the venerable MMO title. While Blizzard has not given a date to experience all the new stuff, including a higher level cap and new dungeons and raids, you can opt in to the beta test on your profile page.

Via: Polygon, Kotaku

Source: Blizzard

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News:: Review: Splasher

Splasher is a love letter to the twitch platforming genre, and it wears its influences on its sleeves proudly. The shadow of Super Meat Boy can be felt in almost every aspect of this game, but it introduces enough new mechanics to really make itself stand out from its inspirations.

The head honcho on the development team, Romain Claude, previously honed his chops as a level designer for both Rayman Origins and Legends. There are a ton of subtle nods to the franchise, among many others, as well. This may be Splashteam’s first game, but they’re hardly a bunch of amateurs. 

The level design is absolutely outstanding, and there’s always small introductions to mechanics before you’re actually expected to use them. Even in the game’s hub world, you’ll often have to learn some new trick in order to reach the next chapter’s doorway. This new skill will be essential once you get there. There’s no overt tutorials, and the progression feels like a natural evolution of everything you’ve been taught by past experiences.

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News:: Blizzard is making a 'StarCraft II' campaign free to play

Blizzard is taking StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty's campaign free to play. As Polygon reports, come November 14th, you'll have access to the entire narrative and if you already own that, you'll get the Protoss-themed Heart of the Swarm campaign for free. The other narratives will run you $15 each. Unlike StarCraft II: Starter Edition that included free multiplayer, the adversarial mode that comes in tow here will feature ranked play -- not just casual, unranked matches.

Source: Polygon

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News:: Alexstrasza rocks the dragon better than Hanzo in Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm getting Overwatch characters is the new normal. Just a year ago the battle cry from the community was that there were "too many Warcraft assassins," and now, folks are pushing back a bit when it comes to the injection of more Overwatch heroes. Just in the past seven months we've gotten Genji, D.Va, Ana, and Junkrat, and now we're getting Hanzo -- on top of Alexstrasza from Warcraft -- which might counterbalance it a bit for some.

I for one love the Overwatch presence in Heroes, so I'm glad this dragon duo is happening.

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News:: Wild West Online headed down the Early Access trail this month

The cowboy-themed MMO, Wild West Online, will enter Early Access on November 15. According to developer 612 Games, the multiplayer title's 1.0 release is planned for "later this year."

Wild West Online's Early Acess alpha includes "over 100 quests," a collection of "historically correct" guns, and two different public events. Though the Early Access version of the game isn't feature complete, players will be able to explore the map, interact with NPCs and other players, as well as access customizable abilities.

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News:: 'Pokémon Go' developer buys social animation startup Evertoon

Game developer Niantic has become a well-known name since it released Pokémon Go to massive popularity last summer. Unfortunately, the game has recently seen a rather sharp decline in its active user community in the past year and a half. Perhaps that explains the company's recent acquisition of a relatively unknown startup, Evertoon, which makes an app for creating animations with customized avatars. "Today I am excited to announce that we have acquired the Evertoon team," wrote Niantic boss John Hanke, "who bring with them a wealth of talent and experience in mobile products, tools for creativity, and community building."

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Niantic, Evertoon

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News:: Torchlight developer Runic Games has also been closed by Perfect World

Less than 24 hours after we received word that Gigantic developer Motiga was being shuttered by Perfect World, another Seattle-based studio suffers a similar fate. Runic Games, the developer behind the Torchlight series and the recently-released Hob, has also be closed.

Runic head Marsh Lefler announced the news on the front page of Runic's website, confirming that the company was coming to an end after a nine-year run. Parent company Perfect World sent us this statement, which addresses both Motiga and Runic:

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News:: Blizzard announces World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth

World of Warcraft is going to war with its next expansion, Battle for Azeroth.

Blizzard shared the intro cinematic today at BlizzCon and an overview video, both of which you can find right here. Battle for Azeroth will bring players to Kul Tiras and Zandalar and, ooh, there's even some island plundering. Six new playable Allied Races, a level cap of 120, more dungeons and raids, and a 20-person PvE mode inspired by "classic Warcraft RTS battles" are also lined up for the expansion.

The beta test is "coming soon" and you can opt in over here.

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News:: Reinhardt's origins are revealed in the newest Overwatch cinematic

Overwatch's tankiest tank was the focus of the most recent cinematic trailer, revealed earlier today at Blizzcon. The trailer goes into Reinhardt's origins as a cocky young crusader, more interested in glory than protecting the rest of his team, and how that led to the death of his mentor, Balderich. It's touching, and gives the Eichenwald map some backstory only the most devoted Overwatch fans were aware of. You can watch the trailer below.

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News:: Blizzard announces World of Warcraft Classic

Blizzard have announced World of Warcraft Classic at Blizzcon 2017.

The release, which has been rumoured among WoW players for quite some time, will present the WoW universe as it first appeared upon its original release way back in 2004, without any of the various expansion areas, new classes or UI tweaks that have slowly been added to the MMORPG over the following thirteen years.

This obviously may spell trouble for any and all fan-run "classic" servers.

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News:: Hearthstone is heading deep underground for its next expansion

HearthStone will be expanding once again later this year, and the collectible card game is taking some cues from Dungeons and Dragons.  The next expansion will focus on the rat-like Kobolds and their underground lair.

Every Hearthstone player will get a free Legendary card, Marin the Fox. When he enters the battlefield he spawns a high-health treasure chest for your opponent, and destroying it will get you a powerful artifact. A few new cards were revealed, and the new mechanic this time will allow you to call cards directly out of your deck to the battlefield without playing them from your hand.

Each class will have a new legendary weapon, even those classes that haven't had weapon cards available to them before. The expansion will also contain new single player content, called Dungeon Run. It was described as a "HearthStone Roguelike," In this mode you'll create a deck from provided cards and attempt to beat 10 dungeon bosses, each with their own gimmick. Losing will require you to start over, so a versatile strategy will be necessary. The Dungeon Run will be free to all players, requiring neither in-game gold or a cash purchase.

Kobolds and Catacombs will launch sometime next month.

 

 

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News:: Overwatch's next hero is a healer named Moira

Another healer! As announced at BlizzCon, Overwatch's next hero will be Moira, a support.

"In case you're wondering how to spell Moira, it's spelled 'OPAF,'" joked game director Jeff Kaplan, who added that she was once a part of Blackwatch and has a "storied history" with Talon.

Expect an origin video and more details later today.

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News:: Overwatch's new map is a tribute to Blizzard's games

At BlizzCon 2017, Jeff Kaplan revealed an all-new map for Overwatch. "Blizzard World" is a tribute to the company's wares past and present, with areas based on Hearthstone, Warcraft, and StarCraft, among others.

The map is a hybrid of both Assault and Payload, and is expected to arrive on the game's PTR "soon," before going live early next year.

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News:: Heroes of the Storm's big 2018 update includes performance-based matchmaking

After significant changes to Heroes of the Storm's "out-of-game experience" with the 2.0 update, Blizzard is now turning its attention toward the game's core with a planned 2018 gameplay update that will see numerous fan-requested improvements and tweaks.

As quickly summarized at BlizzCon 2017, we can expect performance-based matchmaking, voice chat, a new camera, laning improvements, a stealth rework, and evolved battleground mechanics.

That first point is a huge deal. Blizzard is rethinking its "traditional win/loss system" and will take into account your personal performance "whether you win or lose," according to senior producer Kaeo Milker.

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News:: StarCraft 2 is going free to play

Blizzard head Mike Morhaime announced at today's 11th Blizzcon event that StarCraft 2 will be going Free-to-play later this month. The 2010 real time strategy game had previously been free to try with what Blizzard called a "Starter Edition," but will go fully free for everyone beginning November 14.

The game will keep receiving updates as well. A new co-op mission will launch at the same time the game goes free, and a co-op commander will be added. This new commander will consist of two new characters named Mira Han and Mat Horner.

Anyone who's already bought StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty will receive the second expansion free, and there will be other perks for people who've paid for one of Starcraft 2's expansion packs. I was expecting a battle chest type of package including all three campaigns for a reduced price, but this sounds even better.

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News:: Overwatch's Hanzo and Warcraft's Alexstrasa coming to Heroes of the Storm

Blizzard have announced that Heroes of the Storm's next characters joining that battle are both dragon lovers. Overwatch's archer Hanzo Shimada is entering the fray, swiftly followed by Alexstrasa, World of Warcraft's domineering dragon-lady.

Hanzo is classed as a ranged assassin, using his expert archery skills to take down the opponents, while Alex can use her Dragon Queen trait to transform into a terrifying winged wonder.

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News:: Telltale’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ first season ends next week

Star-Lord and crew have one last adventure in them for this season of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series. Season finale "Don't Stop Believin'" debuts November 7th and finds the ragtag group of heroes reuniting to take out galactic adversary Hala. It'll be available on just about every platform under the sun including mobile, PlayStation 4, Steam and Xbox One. Unfortunately, there's no word of a Switch release date just yet.

Source: Telltale Games

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News:: Come watch the BlizzCon 2017 opening ceremony with us

It's a full-on Blizzard weekend as the annual BlizzCon returns to Anaheim, California.

The festivities kick off this morning, at 11:00am Pacific, with the opening ceremony. This opening ceremony. Stay a while and watch with us!

Expect to hear a lot about Overwatch (I'll take a character reveal, please!), some Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and maybe a fun surprise or two. Wouldn't a remaster be nice?

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News:: EA wishes to 'understand what the demand is' before committing to Switch

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Electronic Arts have stated that they are still on the fence about committing time and resources to Nintendo Switch development, despite many third-party developers reportedly queuing up to get their wares on Nintendo's puppy.

The studio's Financial Chief, Blake Jorgensen, stated that the company wants to wait out the console's debut year, as well as keep an eye on sales of FIFA 18, before becoming a fully-fledged supporter of the Switch and Nintendo, which recently celebrated an incredible quarterly earning, as well as reaching a milestone for having sold over 27 million Switch games.

Recently, announcements have come in from other third-party studios, such as Bethesda, who are already in the process of porting Skyrim, DOOM and the recent Wolfenstein II to the Nintendo machine, perhaps EA are waiting on the results of releases such as these before they throw in their own chips.

EA in no rush to make Switch games [Twitter]

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News:: Sega unveils revamped Sotenbori for Yakuza Kiwami 2

Sega has updated its official site for Yakuza Kiwami 2, with a lovely selection of new screen shots showing off Sotenbori, the second district visited by Kazuma and friends during the events of the sequel's story.

The classy, expensive entertainment district, which is based off of real-life location Doutonbori in Osaka, has never looked better, brought to life by the power of modern gaming technology and filled with new stores and distractions to while away the hours in between laying waste to the Omi Alliance gangsters that popularise the district.

New locations include restaurants, shops and a sweet indoor putting green. There are also some new quest-givers waiting to pounce on Kiryu, including one guy who needs the rugged dreamboat to fill in for an absent photography model. As the site states: "Can Kiryu’s poses really make the art director’s soul tremble?"

We'll hopefully find out in a localisation, which must surely be on the horizon. Lucky Japanese gamers will be able to hit Sotenbori on December 7, when Yakuza Kiwami 2 launches on PS4.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 [Official site]

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