Star Wars Battlefront 2
Available
on PS4, Xbox One and PC
Star Wars
Battlefront 2 is the most visually stunning Star Wars game ever. If you’re
playing on a high-end PC or Xbox One X in particular, you’re in for a gorgeous
treat of nerdy fan-service. DICE has also listened to feedback from its
predecessor and thrown in everything but the kitchen sink, with a fun – and
rather fleeting – campaign, multiplayer maps spanning the entire movie saga,
and an arcade mode for those who love a bit of couch co-op. Add to that the
promise of all future DLC being free and we should have the perfect experience
in a galaxy far, far away. Should.
In the beginning you’ll be crashing into things a lot, particularly
because there’s now far more to crash into, with asteroid fields, and debris
around particular maps like Death Star II, making combat that much more
exciting. Once it clicks, however, it makes this section of the game so much
better. There are also settings which ease you in, like auto-adjusting the ship
to the horizon and auto-rolls, but you can also turn these off once you become
a bit more accustomed to it.
A mostly good
adventure, then, but not without some major foibles. There’s no doubt
Battlefront 2 is better than its predecessor but we do miss some the latter’s
purity – guns, for example, still feel excellent to fire, but there’s so
many of them now that you feel like you’re in Call of Duty shooter
territory. Amidst a forcible loot system it creates a slight sense of
soullessness that could see DICE’s latest effort risks fading into the
background as another decent shooter that misses its mark. This is Star Wars,
though, so there’s no doubt they’ll get another shot.
If you’re thinking that the Battlefront II single-player isn’t as
straightforward as “play as a bad guy” for eight hours, you’re right, and that
brings with it both upsides and downsides. With all of the lead-up, I was
frankly excited to just embrace my darker instincts and play as the Empire for
the entirety of the game; it seemed to be part of the edgier tone adopted by
both Rogue One and the upcoming The Last Jedi. Things aren’t ultimately that
simple, but Iden’s story is nevertheless satisfying unto itself, particularly
as the consequences of the Empire’s actions trickle down from her father, to
her, and the members of her team.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer
is the real star of the show here, and in its sophomore iteration, DICE has
built an online experience that feels like Star Wars as much as it
authentically looks like it. Galactic Assault, the big 40-player,
objective-based mode that took pride of place in the first game returns, and
it’s just as much a must-play experience as ever. With huge, branching maps
it’s here that the much-needed changes to matchmaking are truly felt.
Classes
– the bread and butter of pretty much every other shooter worth its salt – have
finally been introduced, fostering a distinct sense of teamwork that permeates
practically every mode of BF2. The game actively wants you to play as a team,
even going so far as rewarding you with extra in-game points just for completing
objectives or scoring kills while in the vicinity of the squad you spawn
with.
Black Friday PlayStation deals announced$
With
Thanksgiving week just around the corner, Black Friday ads are finally starting
to flood the web. We've seen massive ads with incredible deals from Target,
Best Buy, and Walmart, and now Sony has launched its own Black Friday deals
campaign! For an entire week beginning on November 19, gamers will be able to
find several PlayStation products for incredible prices at participating
retailers. These deals will be live until Cyber Monday, which is November 27.
Sony has
released details about what kind of PlayStation deals to expect during Black
Friday, without giving much in the way of specifics about where specifically to
go to find the sale pricing. This information is more about what you can expect
from PlayStation pricing in general from various retailers, while supplies
last.
“For
PlayStation 4, the standard slim 1TB system in Jet Black will be available at
$199.99 USD,” the blog post states. “This is the perfect time to pick up a PS4
as a gift for the special gamer in your life, or as a treat for yourself. You
can also stock up on additional DualShock 4 wireless controllers while you’re
at it. All DS4 controllers, including the recently released translucent colors,
will start at $39.99 USD (MSRP) at participating retailers.”
Sale
pricing on games will begin on Nov. 17 if you’re a PlayStation Plus owner, as
well. Sony is promising “deals of up to 40 percent off on the hottest
blockbuster titles.” The good news is that the PlayStation Store isn’t going to
sell out of downloads, so that’s going to be an easy sale to shop.
Grand Theft
Auto V on PC review:
Grand Theft
Auto V has finally been released on PC – and it was well worth the wait.
Rockstar’s open-world crime epic was released for last-gen consoles in 2013,
and a remastered HD version was released on PS4 and Xbox One in 2014, making
this, essentially, the third version of the game. Taking advantage of modern PC
hardware, it brings yet more visual improvements, as well as a suite of new
features exclusive to the PC version, including the remarkable Rockstar Editor.
It’s a tale
of three criminals: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Michael is a retired bank
robber living a life of luxury with his family in witness protection, but who
misses the excitement of his old life. Franklin is a streetwise repo man who
wants a better life for himself. Trevor is an unhinged meth dealer with a
seriously broken moral compass. They’re three very different characters,
brought together by a shared desire to break as many laws – and make as much
money – as possible.
Michael is
the most interesting of the three. Grand Theft Auto games typically chart the
rise of a criminal, but in Michael we see the bleak hangover of that success.
He has a palatial mansion, a luxury car, and all the comforts that wealth
brings, but he’s also deeply unhappy, spending his days reclining by the pool,
drinking whisky, and listening to Phil Collins. But a chance encounter with
Franklin, whose career has only just begun, triggers an extreme midlife crisis
that sees him returning to a life of crime.
The
characters are colourfully written and acted, but they’re frequently
overshadowed by their surroundings. The game’s setting is the fictional state
of San Andreas, an analogue of southern California that’s several times bigger
than GTA IV’s Liberty City. To the south lies the city of Los Santos – a
satirical reimagining of Los Angeles – and to the north you’ll find Blaine
County, a rural expanse of desert, mountain and forest. You can traverse this
vast space in a broad selection of vehicles, from muscle cars, motorcycles and
eighteen-wheelers to jet skis, fighter jets, and speedboats.
A wealth of
PC graphics options brings San Andreas to life in the most vivid detail yet.
There’s adjustable tessellation, motion blur, high resolution shadows, and
pretty much every setting you would expect from a modern PC game. It has native
support for 4K resolutions, although you’ll need a powerful GPU to take
advantage of this. But it scales impressively, running at 60fps on high-end and
medium-spec rigs.
t’s been a
long time coming, but Grand Theft Auto V’s PC debut is a triumph. It maintains
a slick 60fps on even mid-range PCs, with only a few visual compromises. It
offers a large number of adjustable options to tailor the game to the
strengths, or weaknesses, of your setup. The Rockstar Editor is endlessly
entertaining. The online heists are, with friends, some of the most fun you can
have in a multiplayer game. The single-player story is an exhilarating series
of increasingly absurd missions. And it all takes place in one of the richest,
densest, most atmospheric game worlds ever built.
Gameplay
Drive,
shoot, play tennis, raise a dog – there's not much you can't do in GTA V's
varied missions and hobbies. Open-world freedom has always been the greatest
asset and remains so here, although being unable to interact with anything
unless prompted leaves a sense of detachment.
The verdict
Five years
in the making, Grand Theft Auto V doesn't quite live up to expectations. The
central story boasts wonderful character moments but is narratively uninspired,
while action scenes require little skill. Despite its flaws, this is a
remarkable title with a wealth of content that puts most competitors to shame.
0 comments:
Post a Comment