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E3 2018: Anthem Is An Exciting New Direction For BioWare
E3 2018's Xbox One Rumors: Crackdown 3 Delayed, Hitman 2, Gears Of War 5, More
Kingdom Hearts 3 gets January 2019 release date

E3 2018: Anthem Is An Exciting New Direction For BioWare

Posted: 09 Jun 2018 09:27 PM PDT

While trying out Anthem, I had to keep reminding myself that I was playing a BioWare game. It’s the first new IP from the veteran RPG developer in a decade, and although it falls into that particular style of role-playing and shooter hybrid the studio honed with Jade Empire and the Mass Effect franchises, this is the hardest it has leaned into the gameplay style. With the Anthem, we're seeing a major shift in what BioWare is capable of with its. Although it still exhibits some of the studio's role-playing pedigree, it's the vast online open-world that distinguishes its newest project.

During a hands-on session at EA Play, we got to check out one of Anthem's missions while getting a feel for the Javelin exo-suits and their unique powers. Focusing on the adventures of numerous Freelancers on a hostile alien planet, they'll tackle story missions and side-events, facing off against some of the world's fiercest creatures.

In the vein of Bungie's Destiny and Ubisoft's The Division, Anthem is a shared-world online shooter focusing on groups of players taking on new challenges and acquiring new loot. But in familiar BioWare fashion, your particular Freelancer will make important choices throughout the game's main campaign, altering their relationships with allies and other factions. While this sounds pretty standard, this is all housed within the space of an online world where other players are making similar or conflicting choices in their own story.

As of now, we only know what the story is about in the broad sense: humans on a hostile alien planet, a powerful ancient presence of some form, and major world-altering events. While BioWare wasn't ready to share just how those choices will be reflected in the game for others to see, it did say they'll be surfaced in some form. With that said, the general narrative feels much more of a nebulous concept, and I am intrigued to see how the developer will be able to inject that familiar BioWare-style storytelling into Anthem. The shift to an online shooter does showcase the game's main focus, marking a major change from the studio's past games.

In our demo, we played the Scars and Villainy mission, which took the Freelancers on an operation to take out an ancient weapon: a Relic held by the imposing Scar forces--one of the many groups on the planet fighting for control. While this mission was shown during the EA Play press conference, we saw an extended version of it, exploring some of the surrounding areas and fighting against the Swarm Tyrant boss. Though it's usually difficult to get a sense of the game's scale from standard vertical slice demos, as they aim to show a little bit of everything, I was impressed with the sense of scale and verticality found in Anthem--which felt particularly fresh for a BioWare game.

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Anthem - Official Cinematic Trailer | E3 2018

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As Anthem is an action-RPG, you're given a lot of options in how you'll fight against enemies, and the general combat and shooting mechanics were some of the most notable standouts. With a primary weapon, side-arm, and special abilities--like the Ranger's Frost Grenades--you'll be able to fly into combat and utilize your skills in quick succession. Coordinating with your team will also open up opportunities to use combination attacks, which offer bonus damage to groups of enemies. For instance, you can use the Frost Grenade and the Colossus' slam skill together to destroy frozen enemies, which sends shards of ice into surrounding monsters.

I was impressed with how punchy and tactile the shooting mechanics were, which made getting a feel of the new systems fairly easy. While the Mass Effect series had largely serviceable combat--which gradually got better as the entries went on--Anthem shows some major growth on BioWare's part for fast, responsive combat, making many of the fights thrilling to take part in.

Your Freelancer's most valuable asset is their Javelin exo-suit, allowing them to survive the world's hostile environment. Movement is a core part of Anthem, and each Javelin can use their booster packs to fly through the world and glide underwater at great speed. Regardless of their archetype, each Javelin has a great sense of velocity and mobility while zipping through the air, which recalled some exciting moments from films like Iron Man. While you're not able to fly indefinitely, as your suit's thrusters will overheat, flying through waterfalls will offer instant cooldowns and keep you going for longer distances.

As you complete jobs, you'll acquire more resources and new gear for the exo-suits. While you'll focus on one Javelin early on, you'll eventually be able to switch over to other suits. So far, Anthem has four unique Javelins: the all-around striker Ranger; the Hulk-like Colossus; the glass-cannon Storm, which uses elemental attacks; and the agile Interceptor. As you can tell, the Javelins are not unlike classes in a traditional RPG, fulfilling those standard roles needed to round out a group.

While the mission culminated in a battle against the large Swarm Tyrant boss, who summoned smaller spider creatures and other hazards against the group--such as webbing that can trap Freelancers--the demo ended about halfway through the fight. What's interesting about this battle is that it highlighted the game's focus on online gameplay, as it required a lot firepower to whittle the boss's health down. While the Mass Effect games had online modes, they were single-player games at heart. During the presentation, the developers stated that while players can play solo, they'll eventually come across some fights that will be too challenging. This feeling was reiterated further in a talk with executive producer Mark Darrah, who also said the studio is still tinkering with solo play for long term.

While there's still plenty we don't know about Anthem--narrative-progression, PvP, and just what the endgame can offer--this brief taste of the game offered a whole lot to look forward to. Though BioWare has already dabbled in the sci-fi space with Mass Effect, Anthem comes off as a major departure for the company, specifically in how it's focusing much more on fast gameplay and dynamic battles. Still, we're eager to hear more about the larger specifics of the game, and just what that means for the bigger picture of Anthem.

You can read more about Anthem and other news from EA's E3 briefing in our recap of all the announcements from EA Play. For our full coverage of the big event, be sure to visit GameSpot's E3 2018 hub to follow along with all of the biggest news from the show.

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E3 2018's Xbox One Rumors: Crackdown 3 Delayed, Hitman 2, Gears Of War 5, More

Posted: 02 Jun 2018 09:56 AM PDT

E3 2018 is mere weeks away, which makes this prime time for rumors to take hold. Microsoft and the Xbox are especially rife with rumors, given that the company is keeping its plans so tightly under wraps. Unlike Sony which has already detailed its main focus and Nintendo which is sure to be featuring Smash Bros., we don't actually know much about what Microsoft has in store. This year, the Xbox is a black box.

That leaves plenty of room for rumor and speculation, so we've compiled some of the biggest rumors below. If you want to check out even more scuttlebutt leading up to E3, check out our full list of rumors. Or stay more grounded with our list of every confirmed Xbox game appearing at the show so far.

We'll know which of these rumors pan out once the press conferences debut. Microsoft's is scheduled for Sunday, June 10 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET. Bookmark our full conference schedule to plan all your viewing parties.

E3 2018 Rumors

Crackdown 3 Delayed

The oft-delayed open-world action game Crackdown 3 had been slated for release sometime in 2018, but it's reportedly been pushed back yet again. As such, it's unclear how prominently it will be featured--if at all--during Microsoft's E3 press conference.

Update: Crackdown 3 is now confirmed to be delayed until 2019.

Hitman 2 Leaked

Publisher WB Games has teased an announcement of some sort is coming on June 7, ahead of E3. It doesn't provide any indication of what that will be for, but a teaser video shows a race car with the brand Hamsun on it--a reference to something from the first season of IO Interactive's Hitman. (IO and WB worked on a re-release of that game not long ago.) If that's not direct enough for you, a Reddit user discovered the source code for WB's website briefly hosted a link to an image file with a logo for something called Hitman 2. That seems pretty clear cut, but we should learn more on Thursday.

Update: Warner Bros. has officially announced Hitman 2.

Overcooked 2, Paladins, And More

While 4chan leaks are not especially reliable, a photo has surfaced that may in fact be real. It shows names for a variety of Nintendo Switch games that will apparently be advertised around the E3 show floor. This includes already-confirmed games like Mario Tennis Aces, but it also shows Fortnite (which, as noted above, looks to be real), Paladins, and Overcooked 2. Whereas Fortnite and Paladins would be ports of existing games, Overcooked 2 has not yet been announced--and it's possible that it could also come to PC, PS4, and Xbox One in addition to Switch, if it is indeed real.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

A new Assassin's Creed was among the games seemingly leaked by Walmart Canada. Although that retailer listing was very non-specific--it didn't include a subtitle or number--we've now heard what could be the title for such a game. According to JeuxVideo, which reportedly received a photo of a collectible keychain, the new game is called Assassin's Creed Odyssey. The keychain itself consists of a helmet resembling one from Ancient Greece, perhaps indicating that will be the setting for the new game.

Update: Ubisoft apparently didn't feel like having the rumors swirl until E3, so it's decided to confirm that Assassin's Creed Odyssey is real. It offered up a very brief, 300-ish clip and stated Odyssey is indeed the name, but beyond that, we'll have to wait for E3 for more details.

Borderlands Getting PS4, Xbox One, PC Re-Release

We know a new Borderlands is eventually coming, whether it's called Borderlands 3 or something else. Gearbox denies it'll be at E3, and publisher 2K recently delayed an unannounced game, which could be that Borderlands title. But it looks as if E3 might not be completely devoid of Borderlands news, as the Korean ratings board has listed Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. While not official by any means, ratings board leaks are often a reliable source. Given the timing, we might just hear about this project at E3.

Gears Of War 5, New Assassin's Creed, Just Cause 4, And More

Many of the expectations for E3 2018 were set in one go. Retailers have been known to leak things from time to time, but Walmart's Canadian website seemed to potentially spoil quite a lot with a single leak. Listings for numerous unannounced games went online in May, including Rage 2, a new Assassin's Creed, Gears of War 5, Dragon Quest 2, and Just Cause 4.

The sheer number, combined with some typos--such as Forza "Horizons" 5, rather than what would be the series' next game, Forza Horizon 4--made it all seem unlikely. However, Bethesda had an unusual response to the whole situation, and soon after we learned that Rage 2 is real (and since then, Lego DC Super-Villains). Two games from this list turning out to be legitimate doesn't mean the others are anything but placeholders or errors, but it does lend some credence to the possibility of them being real.

A New Splinter Cell Will Be Revealed

Another game mentioned in the Walmart Canada leak was something simply titled Splinter Cell. This might also turn out to be nothing but a placeholder, but Ubisoft itself has certainly set fans up to expect some kind of news related to the franchise before long. Following Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot's comments last year, the company released a Splinter Cell-themed update for Ghost Recon Wildlands earlier this year. That not only set up the potential plot for a new Splinter Cell, but it marked the return of beloved Sam Fisher voice Michael Ironside--and it doesn't seem like a stretch to think Ubisoft brought him in for more than just a small cameo.

Fallout News Is Coming

This is less a rumor and more speculation, as fans believe we're nearing an announcement involving the Fallout franchise. Bethesda offered days of teases for Rage 2 before it was revealed, and, as of this writing, it's seemingly begun to do the same for Fallout. The company first tweeted a "please stand by" image similar to a screen we've seen in the series previously. Subsequently, it kicked off a livestream with the same image playing on a screen in the background, but with a Fallout Vault Boy figure in the foreground.

That's sparked speculation that we could see a new Fallout game or--perhaps more likely, given its Skyrim re-releases--a remastered version of Fallout 3 or 4, perhaps for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. Bethesda has said this year's press conference could be its biggest ever; clearly it's got more than just Rage 2 and updates to The Elder Scrolls Online to talk about.

Update: Indeed, Fallout news has arrived. Bethesda Softworks has officially unveiled Fallout 76, a new game developed by Skyrim and Fallout dev Bethesda Game Studios. We don't know a ton at this point about how it will play, but Kotaku reports it will be have online-based survival elements. Bethesda said we'll be hearing more at E3; if that is the form the game takes, Bethesda is sure to provide some indication at E3.

Cyberpunk 2077 (Or Another CD Projekt Red Game) Will Be There

We know CD Projekt Red, the developer of the Witcher series and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, is attending E3. A listing on the official E3 website earlier this year suggested the studio would be there to show off an RPG, although that was later removed. The company has not yet announced its plans for the event--if it has anything to publicly show at all--but fans have their fingers crossed that Cyberpunk (or the studio's other triple-A RPG) will finally be revealed properly.

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Kingdom Hearts 3 gets January 2019 release date

Posted: 10 Jun 2018 07:14 AM PDT

Kingdom Hearts 3 finally has a concrete release date — but it's a little later than expected. The long anticipated third installment to the Final Fantasy / Disney crossover is now slated to hit players hands on January 29, 2019 for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Director Tetsuya Nomura announced the news at the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour, and later apologized to fans on Twitter for the delay. "I'm sorry that we're asking for a little more time than initially planned," he said, and promised more information and "a few trailers at E3."

We've announced the release day for KINGDOM HEARTS III ahead of E3 at the KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World Tour-. I'm sorry that we're asking for a little more time than initially planned. Please look forward to other information, including a few trailers at E3. Thank you - Nomura
— Kingdom Hearts (@KINGDOMHEARTS) June 10, 2018

It's been a long road to release for Kingdom Hearts 3 which was first announced five years ago at E3 2013. Back in 2017, Square Enix finally had announced a vague "2018" window for the final release, but unfortunately it looks like it'll be missing that promise by just a couple of weeks. But given that fans have been waiting over thirteen years since Kingdom Hearts 2 to find out how Sora's story will end, the extra couple of days to make the game as good as it can seem short by comparison.