I tend not to cover some of the most popular games in the world. My thinking is that if you’re someone who plays something like League of Legends or PUBG, you already know what’s going in that ecosystem — likely better than I do.
I also tend to make the exception for Call of Duty. Not just because I spent most of my teenage years playing them (I have 100% of the achievements on Modern Warfare 2), but because of how profoundly impactful the franchise is on the industry overall. It is consistently the #1 best selling game in the United States every year, and even when they chase trends like battle royales, or mobile apps, they manage to bring dozens of millions of players.
Cold War is at an interesting crossroads of going through development hell while at the cusp a new console generation. How they handle it will be echoed in many corners.
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Full details given for Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War
Today, Activision revealed more details about Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War, which will be releasing on November 13th.
The game is a direct sequel to 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, and will explore the covert operations of the Cold War, and the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who makes an appearance. The single-player campaign will be more in line to the first Black Ops, which takes a more psychological thriller approach compared to the usual Call of Duty story. It will also have a customizable protagonist for the first time, different types of missions (like stealth), and a branching storyline with multiple endings.
It will include a Zombies mode, as is traditional for the Black Ops titles. It will also be the catalyst for Chapter 2 of Call of Duty: Warzone, which is the free-to-play battle royale that has exploded in recent months. It looks like they’re opting to keep the current title and not make a Warzone 2, which is a shrewd move. The multiplayer mode for both games will have full cross-play across current-gen consoles, next-gen consoles, and PC.
Cold War will be available on next-generation consoles, but it comes with an additional price tag. The current-gen version of the game will cost the traditional $60 USD, however they also have the “Cross-Gen Bundle,” which gives a free upgrade to the next-gen title for $70 USD. This decision will have major ramifications across the entire gaming industry, with CoD being a market leader. NBA 2K21 has already been confirmed to have a similar price tag, while companies like Ubisoft have stuck to $60 for now.
Fall Guys becomes most downloaded PS+ game ever
Fall Guys has been the talk of the town since it released earlier this month — today, they announced it to be the most-downloaded Playstation Plus game of all time, worldwide. My understanding is that this refers to the free games that are given away to Playstation users each month.
Considering they’ve been providing that service for close to 10 years, this is quite the feat. Especially factoring in the caliber of games previously given away — taking a casual look through the list, I spot titles like The Last of Us, Bloodborne, and NBA 2K20. It even beats out Rocket League, which was also given away for free on its launch day.
They have also confirmed that they’ve now sold 7 million units on Steam alone. Quite the achievement for an indie studio.
The Last Campfire gets a surprise release
The first project from Hello Games following No Man’s Sky has been known to be in development for some time, but nobody knew it was releasing today!
The Last Campfire is much different in scope compared to their debut title. It’s a puzzle platformer treated as a side-project by the company, with development lead by only two people. The trailer shows off an incredibly alluring atmosphere, I’m very much looking forward to how it plays.
As mentioned it’s out now (or soon), so check it out on the Epic Games Store, all consoles, and Apple Arcade.
Wasteland 3 review embargo lifted
The long awaited Wasteland 3 is going to be releasing on Friday, and the review embargo has now lifted.
You might be interested in the Wasteland series if you are a fan of other traditional turn-based RPGs, like the original Fallout games or even XCOM (to an extent). According to critics it has a strong narrative and storytelling mechanics, and succeeds in being one of the best in its genre. Many of them also lauded the combat mechanics.
If you have played the other Wasteland games then you will know that it has a fair amount of technical jank to them, and this entry is no exception. Most critics seemed to accept it and get past it — others claimed “buyers beware.”
Also In The News
Epic: Fortnite isn’t becoming a big advertisement, we promise!
343 Industries says Halo Infinite still releasing on Xbox One, won’t be delayed again
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