Editorials
Blizzard’s New WoW Expansion Could Spell Trouble
So, here we are at Gamescom week for 2015, and Blizzard is making some serious waves about the announcement of their newest expansion for their MMO, World of Warcraft. This news comes after a report that basically says nothing short of “You guys are not doing so well” – they lost 1.5 million subscribers in the past quarter alone, and their player base is now at a meager (but not entirely low) 5.6 million subscribers. The last time the subscriber count was so low was in 2006, according to MMO Champion. However, Blizzard does not seem to be phased with those losses, as they believe that their newest expansion, Legion, will revitalize the game.
However, here’s the catch. The new expansion may not be out for another year, yet. The newest patch to hit the game was patch 6.2, which brought some decent changes to the table, but overall, are they really worthwhile in the long run? In the short run, people flocked back to play the game, but only because of the new content. A few weeks later, a few months later down the line, the game’s zones remain as empty as they were pre-patch, and going forward that’s not a good sign.
One of the most fundamental problems of World of Warcraft is its lack of integration of older zones into new content. The old zones become virtual ghost towns, snapshots of that have no signs of player life, other than the occasional player hoarding and farming crafting materials. Not to mention, World of Warcraft has no real end game. And yes, I understand your skepticism with that comment. But thinking about it, it’s only the hardcore raiders and the people who participate in the battlegrounds. Any of my friends who still play the game tell me the exact same thing, but they still keep up with it, out of a sense of loyalty to their raiding squads. And while loyalty is good, it’s not going to be good enough, especially with the rise of other major MMOs – Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, the list goes on. When we think about old zones becoming empty, that’s why I want to look at a game like A Realm Reborn, which brings integration of content into new and old zones alike, and keeps some new features strictly within the new zones (flying mounts).
Each MMO has its own set of distinctive features. The Old Republic went way beyond the click and send quest chain, and devised a quest line that immersed the players completely within the storyline, with the voice acting, something that cost quite an arm and a leg for Bioware. Special effects and all, over $200 million was dropped for that game, and it did poorly enough to have to switch to a free to play model. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a nostalgic festival of memories that brings older and popular characters back into the fold as bosses or exclusives, but has actually gotten good with the release of their newest expansion Heavensward, which released in June and brought meaning back to some of the old zones. Guild Wars 2 lets players pick and choose their own lifestyle – players can level and reach their max potentials entirely by crafting. They don’t have to leave the main city walls, and the gameplay is going to make some waves with Heart of the Thorns.
When I think of World of Warcraft, I can’t think of anything at all. I can’t find any uniqueness anymore. The game looks incredibly dated graphics wise, the quests are incredibly monotonous, and the battlegrounds feel stale. I tried getting back into it when Mists of Pandaria came out, and I saw zero appeal coming back. I immediately canceled my game order, and ended up getting my money back merely because it’s so empty. Even with a high-end PC, the game still looks very cartoonish, compared to the lush realism and beautiful environments of A Realm Reborn and Guild Wars 2. I see no point in having this MMO anymore in this day and age, and while the new expansion, Legion, might be an answer to their subscription problem, it’s only going to be a band-aid solution that avoids the crux of the issue – where is the uniquely good content, and how can Blizzard compete in the face of much more forward thinking MMOs? Does Legion have a mysterious trick up its sleeve to entice millions of gamers into repaying for a $15/month subscription, when other games charge for less or none at all? I will acknowledge its status as a king for having dominated the MMO market for the past few years, but I think that its time has come.
I find Blizzard to be stale. Their material is not as exciting as it was in years past. I missed the sense of wonder, the sense of excitement in finding out that a new game expansion came out. Now it is more of the same old thing, over and over again. Except for Diablo III, which sees very occasional bursts of great stuff – but again, a short term problem. When a new content patch comes out, I’m amused for two to three weeks tops, otherwise I’m back to the table writing away in my free time. They may have a lot going with games like Heroes of the Storm. But they are still short-term fixes that don’t address the idea of a personal uniqueness. No matter the grandeur of their proposals at first, and no matter how much we in the press will salivate for it, to me I just don’t see the appeal in Blizzard Entertainment.
Let’s take a look at two of the relatively empty titles in Blizzard’s lineup – Heroes of the Storm and Diablo III. Yep. I’m calling Heroes of the Storm an empty title. I realize how popular this title is and the attention it’s getting, but when I hear MOBA the immediate thought is to look at games like Valve’s DotA 2, or Riot’s League of Legends. In America, most people think Dota or League of Legends when you ask about a MOBA game. When we look at Heroes of the Storm, it doesn’t hold a candle to its competitors, simply due to its overly casual nature and the reliance on its microtransactions that can quickly empty wallets. Diablo III, on the other hand, is infamous for its incredibly shoddy launch. We all remember Error 37. Its auction house was met with criticism from fans and media alike, claiming that it went against the spirit of what Diablo was about. Its content saw strides going in the right direction, but even now, the only times people get excited are for new patches. Several weeks later… I can hear a pin drop. And there is supposed to be thirty million Diablo III players. It’s so empty and people stop caring.
Blizzard is catering too much in creating lackluster short-term experiences, for short term gains, rather than creating a grandiose experience that will entice more people in the long run. Their focus on Warcraft and their new MOBA puts the cart before the horse and they’re forgetting a large part of their audience. Heck, Diablo III barely got any kind of mention at Gamescom this year! And the fact that their new 2.3 patch is coming out with some major key changes further nails the coffin shut – these games, and Blizzard themselves, are not going to go much further.
With Legion, I think that this is their last endgame, no matter what they say. Toss numbers at me as much as you want, I do not see them making a truly good recovery. My projection is that many people will leave before the expansion launches, and even then the numbers will probably never go back to its golden days. At the end, I see their losses and then their resurgence of subscribers leveling out to approximately 5.6 million with either a small net gain or a small net loss. There’s no chance that they will die out completely, given that they have plenty of money in their vaults, but as a dedicated gamer, Legion is going to be their last chance to show me, and to hopefully many other people, that they have an ace in their sleeves. Who knows? Maybe they’ll develop a hit mobile game, see how much money they make at a low development cost, and then switch to that. It’s happened to Konami!
As disappointed as I am in Blizzard lately, I’m disappointed more in the video gaming industry, for having fallen so low. Games are no longer about the gameplay and the innovation, and instead are glorified high definition movies that allow the player to play with quick time events. As amazing as E3 was this year, every platform was all about showing these overly high definition games. I don’t give a damn about seeing each and every one of Lara Croft’s eyelashes, I give a damn about how this game can impact my life, and whether it will be fun. I have seen enough Call of Duty games. I don’t care anymore for the newest AAA shooter, because those are just rehashed games in a slightly updated package. I don’t want to see another iteration of Halo! They’ve become like those sports games that have new iterations out once a year. You’ve played one, you’ve played them all, and I’m calling out the gaming industry because I want to see a unique game that is able to test me intellectually and gives me the sense of fun and wonder that I experienced years back playing games.
Blizzard raises us their new expansion, but I don’t think they have anything else to offer beyond a short term fix to a long term problem. Either way, I’ve entered the sunken cost analogy, and I’m sure that I’ll still end up paying $59.99 USD for a game that doesn’t entertain me for more than a month, and be completely okay with the number of things they lock behind the disk for extra money. Because that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
After many years of fans begging Square Enix to remaster Final Fantasy VII, they finally listened and did just that. There were numerous excuses as to why the game’s re-release had lagged behind the re-releases of both VII and IX, with the most common excuse being that the game’s original code was lost years ago. However, the company made it happen and the game is finally available for modern audiences to play on modern hardware today. We’re going to give you 5 reasons why you should do just that.
First time available on modern hardware
As we’ve already said, this is the first time that the game is available on modern hardware. While the game originally launched for PS1 back in 1999, it later got a PC port in 2000. That means that is has been a whopping 19 years since a new version of the game has been available for purchase, and that wait was a brutal one. However, it is finally over and you can now play this classic game on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch along with PC. If the lack of modern hardware support was stopping you from checking out, that excuse just got thrown out the window.
The visuals look better than ever
Thankfully, Square Enix did not just slap this port together quickly and throw it out there to shut everyone up. They did a terrific job of putting on a shiny new coat of paint for the game, with the character models in particular looking much better. While things like environment textures didn’t get quite the same amount of attention, this is nevertheless the best that the game has ever looked. It also helps that the game is simply beautiful from a design standpoint, with the game’s world being gorgeous to behold even though we’re dealing with the hardware limitations of 1999.
Quality of life improvements
While those who played the game 20 years ago will still be getting what is essentially the same experience, Square Enix did add some quality of life improvements to put it more in line with current JRPGs. These changes include the likes of increasing battle speed by 3 times, shutting off random encounters completely and even a cheat to give you max HP and limit breaks. While these may seem minor, these will go a long way to ease some of the tedium that many feel after some particularly long gaming sessions. Max HP and Limit Breaks will also make the incredibly tough Ultima and Omega Weapon boss fights a lot easier to deal with.
Triple Triad
The Final Fantasy series is known for having its fair share of enticing side quests and mini games, but there isn’t a single one that is as addicting as Triple Triad. The game is essentially a card game that is played on a 3×3 grid, and each card has a certain number on the top, bottom, left and right sides. You need to place your cards in a manner that the numbers on your cards are higher than your opponents, and seeing as your card can be attacked from four different sides this can be tricky. You’re able to challenge many different characters to a match throughout the course of the entire game, and doing so comes with plenty of nice rewards that will make your quest easier.
The game is awesome
While our previous points focused on specific elements of the game, this one is a simple fact that has been true since 1999: the game is awesome. Unfortunately, releasing immediately after Final Fantasy VII (a watershed moment for gaming) put it under a very cruel microscope, with many knee jerk reactions simply saying it “isn’t as good as VII.” However, in the years that have passed people have revisited the game, and the consensus has definitely changed. This adventure that Square created is unlike any other in the series, being host to an ambitious and bizarre plot filled with some of the best characters the series has ever seen. If you’ve played the game before then this is the perfect time to experience this masterpiece all over again, and if you haven’t then what are you waiting for?
2019 has been yet another good year for gaming so far, with several games releasing that will be big contenders for game of the year once the curtain closes. However, despite the year already being more than halfway over, there are still some huge titles on the horizon that are sure to make their own dents on the coming best-of lists. This article will list the 10 biggest games that are still coming in 2019.
Control
A new game from Remedy Entertainment is always highly-anticipated, and Control is no different. The game is an action-adventure game in the same style as Alan Wake or Quantum Break, but with a supernatural twist. Players will control Jesse Faden, who possesses a variety of supernatural abilities like telekinesis, levitation and more. She will be using her abilities in order to defeat an enemy known only as the Hiss, which has corrupted reality. Control launches for PS4, Xbox One and PC on August 27th.
Borderlands 3
It has been many years since the last game in the Borderlands series released, but the hiatus is finally coming to an end very soon. Those who have played previous games in the series will feel right at home with this game, as it’s once again a loot-driven FPS. The game will offer more zany characters and a charming and insane world to explore, all while dealing with new antagonists Troy and Tyreen Calypso along with their Children of the Vault cult. Borderlands 3 launches for PS4, Xbox One and PC on September 13th, with a Google Stadia port release date being TBA.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series is returning soon with Breakpoint, which will serve as a continuation of previous game Wildlands. The game is set in an open world environment called Aurora, which is a fictional island in the Pacific Ocean. Players will control Lieutenant Colonel Anthony “Nomad” Perryman, who is a special forces operative that was sent to the island to investigate a series of disturbances in the area. Breakpoint launches for PS4, Xbox One and PC on October 4th, with a Google Stadia port coming in November.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Each new installment in the Call of Duty series is always huge, but Modern Warfare’s release marks a first for the long-running franchise. It will be the first game in the series that is reimagining of a previous game in the series, taking 2004’s original game and updating its mechanics and themes to match today’s world. The game will still have some of the beats that the first game had, but will also incorporate lots of surprises to make it a fresh experience. Modern Warfare launches for PS4, Xbox One and PC on October 25th.
The Outer Worlds
Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds is one that will be very highly-anticipated for fans of Fallout: New Vegas, as this game serves as a sort of spiritual successor to that game. It will be an open world RPG that allows you to explore many unique areas crawling with plenty of deadly foes. Players will also be able to encounter and recruit NPCs as companions that have their own personal missions and stories to take part in. The Outer Worlds launches for PS4, Xbox One and PC on October 25th, with a Switch port also being in the works.
Luigi’s Mansion 3
It seemed very unlikely that Luigi’s Mansion would become a recurring franchise for Nintendo following the original GameCube game, but here we are. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is coming to Switch, which also means it will be the first home console release since the original game back in 2003. This time the game is set in a haunted hotel rather than a mansion, and Luigi has some new tricks up his sleeves to take down all those ghosts. Luigi’s Mansion 3 will launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch on October 31st.
Death Stranding
If you’re looking for the most ambitious (and weirdest) game still coming in 2019, then look no further. Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding has perplexed gamers ever since its announcement, and each new trailer that releases just brings more and more questions to the table. It is Kojima’s first game since breaking up with Konami after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phanton Pain (and the cancellation of Silent Hills), and it looks like Kojima has taken the newfound complete creative control to deliver something truly original. Death Stranding launches exclusively for PS4 on November 8th.
Pokemon Sword & Shield
At this point we all know what to expect from a new Pokemon game, and Sword and Shield seems poised to deliver even more cute creatures for players to capture and battle very soon. What sets Sword and Shield apart from its predecessors is that it will be the first home console release for the series, which is saying something considering the series has been around for over 20 years. Pokemon Sword & Shield launches exclusively for Switch on November 15th.
Shenmue III
If you’re a fan of Shenmue then nothing needs to be said for the inclusion of the upcoming third game on this list. Fans of the series have been waiting nearly two decades for a follow-up to the second game, and in just a couple of months that will finally be delivered to them. Brought to life thanks to an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign, the game continues the adventure of protagonist Ryo Hazuki as he hunts down his father’s killer. Shenmue III will launch for PS4 and PC on November 19th.
DOOM Eternal
id Software’s DOOM 2016 was one of the best FPS games to come along in years, so it’s a no-brainer that the follow-up would be on this list. Eternal is set to offer yet another intense FPS campaign for players to plunge into, while also offering a multiplayer component that greatly improves upon the last game’s underwhelming multiplayer mode. There will also be twice as many demon types than there was in the last game, meaning that the chaos level just got that much higher. DOOM Eternal launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and PC on November 22nd.
Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2019 Press Conference has officially come to an end, and with it came plenty of big announcements to get excited about. Some new games were announced, whereas previously-announced games got new footage and/or release dates. In this article we’ve narrowed it all down to the 5 most exciting announcements.
New Xbox “Project Scarlett” Coming Holiday 2020
We’ve known for a while now that a new Xbox was in the works, but now we know when to expect it. Microsoft’s fourth console (which hopefully has a better official name than Xbox One did) will be a big step up from the previous console. Things like much faster load times, an AMD Processor that is four times more powerful than the Xbox One X, 8K Resolution and 120 FPS were all mentioned. A price and exact release date weren’t mentioned. It will also be launching with…
Halo Infinite Coming Holiday 2020, Launching On Both Xbox One and Project Scarlett
The wait for the next Halo game has been longer than ever before for series fans, and the announcement at E3 revealed that the wait will continue. Halo Infinite will not be launching until Holiday 2020, meaning it will have been 5 years since the previous game released with Halo 5. It will also be launching on Xbox One and Project Scarlett, meaning the new console will have a big launch title for fans to get pumped about.
Cyberpunk 2077 Coming April 2020, Stars Keanu Reeves
It’s hard to pick a game that people have been more excited about than Cyberpunk 2077, and after Microsoft’s press conference we’re even more excited. Not only is it coming in April of next year, but Keanu Reeves himself will be playing a “key” role in the game. Everything shown from the game has looked great so far, so hopefully it all pans out and we have another classic from CD Projekt RED come April 2020.
FromSoftware and George R.R. Martin Collaboration Elden Ring Announced
This one was actually leaked prior to the presentation, but Dark Souls developer FromSoftware and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin are collaborating on a new game. The game is called Elden Ring, and it will be a departure from the developer’s most recent games as it will be open world. Very little information on the game is known at this point, as it is still in the early stages of development.
Phantasy Star Online 2 Is Coming West
It took a very long time, but the popular MMORPG is finally coming west. The game is coming to Xbox One in a free-to-play form in Spring 2020, so the wait won’t be that much longer. “There will be no limitations on game experiences,”says Sega, because they want to “provide all players with a fair and exciting experience.”
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