First-Person Shooters

Rainbow Six’s long-awaited revival leaves us wanting more – a little too much more.

By Ryan McCaffery, IGN

Rainbow Six: Siege pulls me in opposite directions at the same time. On the one hand, the moment-to-moment gameplay experience is fantastic. Every second of the short rounds matter, walls and floors won’t protect you, and sound tactics win matches. But, like other 2015 multiplayer-focused shooters such as Evolve and Star Wars Battlefront, there’s not a lot of there there. My time with Siege leaves me feeling like this Rainbow Six revival is a skeleton with not a lot of meat on its bones.

Read on…

Source: Blue’s News

Steam Community Group Announcement from Avalanche Studios talks about technical problems users are encountering with Just Cause 3, saying they are “fully committed to providing you the best possible experience.” To that end a patch is in the works for the just-released action sequel, but they ask for some patience as they work through the process. Here’s word:

We know you’re going to want specific information on when a patch will land and what will be fixed – we would love to give you that information, and we will as soon as we have it. But right now, a little over one day since we launched, we have huge numbers of players in our enormous game world and we’re monitoring all the data coming in.

We need a little bit of time to recreate some of these issues and build fixes. Rest assured though – we are fully committed to making Just Cause 3 as awesome as possible. We already know loads of people are having a blast with the game but we’ll do all we can to make sure everyone is laughing and smiling as they play.

If you do encounter any issues, please contact our Customer Support EU or Customer Support NA.

We’d recommend PC players also visit the Steam forums as there are a number of tips there can could improve or fix some of the issues that have been reported (pinned posts).

End Game 2.0, new stamina system, refined character hitpoint model, Arma 3 Units

Serving as an important stepping stone towards Arma 3 Apex – a major expansion for Arma 3 coming in 2016, Bohemia Interactive today released the Nexus Update (new trailer) for their PC-exclusive tactical military shooter game. Highlights of this major new update include the improved and expanded End Game multiplayer mode, refinements to core game mechanics such as ‘stamina’ and ‘personal protective equipment’, as well as the option for Arma 3 content creators to define ‘mod dependencies’, which enable the automatic installation of mods that require other mods on the Steam Workshop.

First and foremost, the Nexus Update adds two additional instances to End Game (Feres & Zaros), and improves the already available Kavala scenario. Each of the three scenarios has a distinct gameplay focus, ranging from small-scale infantry engagements to more long-distance (vehicle) warfare, with player counts between 8vs8 up to 16vs16. Besides the additional and improved End Game scenarios, the Nexus Update adds a brand new multiplayer system in the form of ‘Spectator Cam‘, which, as the name implies, allows players to join a lobby as a spectator. The Spectator Cam system is designed to be modular. This means that, even though it has been purposefully developed for End Game, it can also be applied to, and modified for, community-created game modes.

What is End Game?
End Game is a relatively new multiplayer mode in Arma 3, which was first introduced in the free platform update that accompanied the Arma 3 Marksmen DLC. In End Game, two sides compete to locate and secure valuable schematics, featuring a combination of PvE/PvP gameplay across three phases. In the first phase, each team has to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB) by clearing out AI-controlled enemies. Then, in phase two, both teams need to download intelligence by completing small objectives. The team that completes phase two first, triggers the third phase, and receives the location of valuable schematics. To win the game, these End Game schematics need to be delivered to a designated upload site, while the other team fights them for possession.

Besides End Game, a key focus of the Nexus Update is to refine core game mechanics related to movement and shooting. With the implementation of a new stamina system, the game provides a more logical and better communicated way of determining a player’s ability to sprint and, subsequently, their aiming precision. The new system factors in a player’s current loadout and other elements like terrain, meaning that those who plan and move thoughtfully are more likely to remain combat effective. Another important change comes in the form of a refined ‘hitpoint-based’ damage model for characters. This enhances the lethality of shots to unprotected parts of the body, rewarding marksmanship skills and making personal protective gear more meaningful.

Alongside the Nexus Update, Bohemia Interactive today also deployed the Foundation Release of ‘Arma 3 Units’ – a web-based service for connecting Arma 3 players with Arma community groups. In essence, Arma 3 Units could be described as an online catalog of Arma community groups (referred to as ‘units’), and a promotional/recruitment tool for new and existing groups/clans. While the initial launch of the website delivers the core components of the service, namely the browsing of units and registration of new units, Bohemia Interactive intends to add more features later on. The development plans for the service are further explained in a special post on the Arma 3 dev blog.

Last but certainly not least, in support of the Nexus Update, this Saturday Bohemia Interactive will be hosting the final match in the official Arma 3 End Game Tournament. In this tournament, 8 teams – composed of Arma 3 developers, community groups, and other special guests – faced off for the glorious title of Arma 3 End Game Champion. Similar to the Quarter- and Semi-Finals, which were already covered in live streams throughout November, the Final match (Arma 3 Ambassadors vs RG Task Force) will be live streamed to www.twitch.tv/arma3official on Saturday December 5, starting at 18:00 UTC, with commentary by community shoutcasters Mic One and Stardog. More information about the End Game Tournament rules, teams, and streams can be found here.

If you want to learn even more about the Nexus Update, be sure to read this new dev blog by Creative Director Jay Crowe. The complete changelog for the Nexus Update (1.54) is available for further examination here.

Get more game info at the official Arma 3 website.

A wide-open playground primed for explosive action.

By Dan Stapleton, IGN

Awesome explosions: Just Cause 3’s got ‘em! The story would have you believe all of this spectacular demolition is about liberating the picturesque island nation of Medici from a mustache-twirling dictator. But considering it doesn’t even care how many civilians you blow up in the process, we all know what it’s really about: ridiculous over-the-top action, physics-based comedy, and impressive destruction in a vast sandbox world. In those areas, Just Cause 3 is at the top of its game.

Read on…

Source: Blue’s News

The Rainbow Six website announces Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege is now available, offering the chance to siege the day with the latest installment in the tactical shooter series. The GeForce website offers a Graphics & Performance Guide on how to get the best visuals for the game on their hardware. The game is available on Steam and Steam announces that if you buy the game there before December 14th you get a free copy of Rainbow Six Vegas 1. This offering is being applied retroactively to all who preordered the game as well. Here’s the description of the game:

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege invites players to master the art of destruction. Intense close quarters confrontations, high lethality, tactics, team play, and explosive action are at the center of the experience. The gameplay sets a new bar for intense firefights and expert strategy in the rich legacy of past Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six games.

Key Features
THE SIEGE GAMEPLAY
For the first time in Rainbow Six, players will engage in sieges, a brand-new style of assault. Enemies now have the means to transform their environments into strongholds: they can trap, fortify, and create defensive systems to prevent breach by Rainbow teams.

To face this challenge, players have a level of freedom unrivaled by any previous Rainbow Six game. Combining tactical maps, observation drones, and a new rappel system, Rainbow teams have more options than ever before to plan, attack, and diffuse these situations.

Square Enix and Avalanche Studios are proud and excited to announce that Just Cause 3 is out now!

The Mediterranean republic of Medici is suffering under the brutal control of General Di Ravello, a dictator with an insatiable appetite for power. Enter Rico Rodriguez, a man on a mission to destroy the General’s hold on power by any means necessary. With over 400 square miles of complete freedom from sky to seabed and a huge arsenal of weaponry, gadgets and vehicles, Just Cause 3 allows you to unleash chaos in the most creative and explosive ways imaginable.

Check out the game in action in the Just Cause 3 “Kasabian” trailer here.

The Just Cause 3 launch trailer can be viewed here.

More game information available at the Just Cause 3 website.

The final video in the Just Cause 3 Developer Diary series takes a look at the technology behind the game: the Avalanche Engine. Talking about the combination of mechanics the engine allows for, procedural destruction models and enemy AI behaviors, the final video is a fantastic insight into how the Avalanche Studios team has brought Just Cause 3 to life.

Square Enix and Avalanche Studios are excited to broadcast the first hour of gameplay from Just Cause 3. With a game world as vast, varied and as open as Medici – with its 400 square miles of beautiful beaches, towering mountain peaks and Mediterranean inspired towns – your first hour of play might be wildly different to ours. That said, we thought we’d focus on some of the early missions and content to whet your appetite ahead of next week’s launch.

More game information available at the Just Cause 3 website.

Source: UbiBlog

Rainbow Six: Siege is almost here, but before it launches, the developers want to give everyone one more chance to try it out. That’s why they will be running an Open Beta on all platforms from November 25 through November 29. This is your opportunity to hop in, play with the operators, check out a few of the maps and modes on offer, and help the developers run one last stress test before the game officially launches on December 1 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Because of the Open Beta, all players will be able to pre-load the game on November 23, and those who participated in the Closed Beta in September will be able to jump into the Open Beta a day early (on November 24). During the Open Beta, you’ll have access to 14 operators (out of the 20 that will be available at launch), including 3 of the Russian Spetsnaz operators you may have seen during the Closed Beta – Glaz, Tachanka and Kapkan.

Read on…

Avalanche Studios have been busy squeezing every last drop of power out of their proprietary engine for the upcoming release of Just Cause 3 on December 1st. The game can be seen firing on all cylinders, with all settings turned to overkill in this video running at a 4K resolution.

More game information available at the Just Cause 3 website.

Source: Blue’s News

EA’s Battlelog has details on Battlefield 4: Legacy Operations, a free DLC pack coming soon to Battlefield 4 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. At the center of the release is Dragon Valley 2015, an updated version of the Dragon Valley map from Battlefield 2, saying this “opens up for vehicular mayhem on land, air, and sea, with a massive number of flags, and destructible and repairable bridges.” This trailer shows off some play testing of the map, and here’s a bit on how the original had to be changed:

If you played Battlefield 2, you likely remember the map – it was huge, with a massive number of flags, and destructible and repairable bridges. Our goal for this map is to make a great, large vehicle map for Battlefield 4 but at the same time modernize the original where appropriate.

Some things had to change when reimagining the map. Battlefield 2 featured a poor draw distance (how far you can see in the game world) by today’s standards, and the original map was built around those limitations. We tackled this in several ways: first we increased the terrain verticality to closer mimic a real life Chinese river valley – and to give us more terrain occlusion for long distances, especially on the central island. We also added a dynamic cloud layer, which not only adds a welcomed air-to-ground separation in terms of gameplay, but also helps shroud far distances at ground level. This has the added bonus effect of allowing you to have intense aerial firefights above the cloud level, which looks really, really cool in Battlefield 4.