Anthem Impressions – In Progress

I’ve been playing through Anthem slowly for about a month now. I picked it up upon release, but with my limited free evenings, have only been able to dedicate a few hours at a time.

My Xbox App tells me I’ve been playing in this new world for about 25 hours so far. So, I guess roughly averaging an hour a night. I’m coming close to the finishing the story, so this is just a work-in-progress update, as I may have some more to add once the campaign concludes and the end-game opens up. On that note, I’ve only played with the Ranger Javelin (armored exosuit), so I want to try the other suits too, before my final impressions.

EA/Bioware has done something fairly unique with Anthem, where it almost feels like 2 games. It’s an Action shooter with RPG elements and story, where we play a Freelancer who wears a Javelin exosuit. Inside the city hub of Fort Tarsis is the safe zone, and then outside the city walls is where the bad guys reside. Our job as a Freelancer is to take out contracts, to help kill the monsters, bugs, and bad guys outside.

Inside the city hub is where all the RPG stuff happens. You can change up your Javelin type, look and load-out in the Forge. You can wander around the city talking to people and vendors, building the story and world, and get mission contracts. Then, when our ears are sore, we walk over to the exosuit and launch into the Mission environment where the fun happens. I say “launch” but that’s is putting it nicely, as you have to wait for the loading screens to provide the menu options of either entering the free play open world, loading up a contract, campaign mission, or stronghold (dungeon). All of these are separate instances and you can’t slip from one to the other without first traveling back to the City environment.

When the mission or free-play adventure is done, and we get our credits and perks, and weapon unlocks, and XP, we are then provided a choice of re-entering the city again, or going to the Forge to update the suit (you then have to exit the Forge before you can launch the next expedition, see: more loading screens). The game does not just let you enter free-play again, or to jump into the next mission. You always have to go back to the single-player hub before you can decide what to do next. This divide in the game’s world is cumbersome. I really wish we could just fly back to the city, land and seamlessly transition into the city hub. Or just queue up the next mission or contract we have waiting.

From a gameplay perspective, the game is fun. The Javelin I’m playing now is the Ranger, which is the “all-around” most normal of the bunch. The suit allows you to fly around, hover and attack the enemies as an armored version of the human inside. Think the Iron Man suit – if he was also toting a few types of machine guns strapped to his back instead of embedded in his suit. The Ranger is light, allows standard movement and flying/hovering. The other types of Javelins are the Interceptor, Storm, and Colossus. The Colossus’ name basically says it all. It’s the Hulk Buster version of the exosuit. Slow, and heavy. Storm is the like the Ranger, but with a cape. It allows more flying and maneuverability, and elemental attacks. And Interceptor is the quick ninja type suit. (As I said at the top, I haven’t tried the other suits yet.) The 4 suits will unlock as we naturally reach the max level 30, and then we can modify each class build the way we want.

The missions do feel a little repetitive. They always start on the big wall that resides outside city limits, and protects Fort Tarsis. We then fly to the noted location on the map, and then attack enemies, or defend a position, or gather a few scatters objects to return to a key location, and then maybe do that a few more times before the end of the mission. Some of the important key campaign missions do feel a bit more important and mix up the formula a bit.

But repetitive structure is not always bad. Each mission is in its own way unique. 22 story missions and about the same again in side-mission / contracts. And by default, the game will want you to play in multiplayer, with 3 other squad mates, so it is a different experience every time. You can play how you want. Be the attacker, or the defender, or the person that wants to do all the objectives, or you can sit back and watch. Sometimes it kind of feels like playing on auto pilot (at least on normal difficulty) as your real-world companions will do the majority of the leg work if you’re not quick enough. Everyone is just eager to burn through the mission to move onto the next.

The flying in the game is smooth, and the transition from ground, to jumping, to flying to hovering is fairly seamless. You can even go underwater in some of the deeper ponds. I did note that besides traveling from point A to point B, flying is not really used. I was kind of hoping for more gameplay mechanics that involved flying, like objects that were on the move, but I found out to my dismay that you can’t really shoot and fly at the same time. Hovering is used for some collectibles and puzzles, but those are sparse. Also your suit will overheat if you fly over hover too long, and you need to fly, skimming across the water, or through a waterfall to cool it down. Or just drop to the ground for a few seconds before flying again. I understand that this mechanic is supposed to convey some authenticity to these suits, that you can’t just fly forever, but its more of an annoyance than anything.

Another restriction to the suits is your build. With the Ranger Javelin, you carry two weapons, a grenade type, and a launcher. You’re also equipped with a special weapon, a support mechanic like armor or shield buff, and you can melee attack. This build is locked when you start your mission. Grenade type or swapping your shotgun for an assault rifle is restricted until you return to Fort Tarsis. The game’s back-end has a lot of gear and weapon challenges to track, and it feels like we’re handcuffed to the specific load-out when we start the mission. Another reason we’re forced to return home after each mission to update our Javelin with the loot that was dropped during the mission.

Jumping into the game, knowing it was Story focused became a little overwhelming at first. BioWare does storytelling well when they’re given the time. But the game starts in the middle of an exciting mission, but already on the losing end of the battle, so all the character dialogue is frantic, and confused, and quick to throw a lot of terminology our way. We start off in bad shape and we have to repair our suit which is a good way to introduce the different gameplay mechanics involving the exosuit. The gameplay is simple enough, but from a story perspective, they throw a lot at you right away. Descriptions about the Anthem? and the Cataclysm? and Heart of Rage? and Javelins and Ciphers?

I let the many introductory character’s conversations and mission objectives just wash over me while I tried to just sort out the gun play. It wasn’t until a few hours into the game that things started to settle down and became less confusing. I started to make sense of the different characters and the original events that transpired. At that point I was invested in the story and was able to piece everything together. World building is tough to swallow when it’s all thrown at you in the first mission of a game you’re just learning to play. I’m focusing on the gameplay but the story flew right over my head.

Because this game is also inherently multiplayer-focused, I feel that the way the mission matchmaking works, some of the character’s interactions can be lost. If you want to hear every line of dialogue, you’ll want to launch each mission single player for the first time. It will be more of a grind because you won’t have any help, but with matchmaking, loading up a mission, you may be dropped into one where your companions are already flying to the first objective, or even loaded into a cave or dungeon. This only happened to me on a few occasions. I personally don’t feel I’ve missed anything crucial to the story by having to rush off to catch up to the group, as the dialogue still plays regarless.

But there have been a few instances where I’ve loaded a mission and the action is already taking place. Where I’ve had to fly towards the destination marker, to find the rest of my crew has already cleared the area and are advancing. I feel a little unwanted, knowing that the game started this mission without me. Like I was almost an afterthought to this group of strangers. What did I miss? I don’t know. Just personally, I feel since I’m initiating my own story mission from the campaign (not free play where I’m just loading a random mission with a group), that the mission should start, for me, at the beginning. Everyone else can join me along the way, I don’t care. But I’m selfish.

This may very well be just a server/balancing act with EA/BioWare. I mean the matchmaking works extremely well, all things considered. 90% of the missions I’ve launched, all the crew load at the same point and off we go. Only one mission I’ve played had only 1 partner instead of the full crew. And matchmaking loading is quick compared to Destiny. But in this one respect, Destiny handles the matching making better. We all queue up in space and fly to the mission. In Anthem everyone is just dropped on the wall and off we go. But some are slower to load and get left behind.

These be me thoughts so far. When I wrap the story and try out the other Javelins, I’ll have more to say. Right now I’ve only tried one Stronghold (I’m assuming there are more) and my gear is still low tier. I’m excited to see what the rest of the story has for me. And what happens when the end-game open up.

-iRogan

BLURB: On Dragon Age: Inquisition

So because I’ve been playing Dragon Age steady for a few days and not switching between games, I haven’t technically “quit” DA. Just turn off the Xbox. And then turn it back on and continue where I leave off. 

Now. Because of this, the game counter still continues. So as far as the game is concerned I’ve already put in 65hrs 😛. 

-IROGAN 

E3 2016 – Electronic Arts Press Conference

ELECTRONIC ARTS E3 2016:

Starting of E3 first – well, before E3 officially begins – EA is jump starting the festivities by hosting their own event: EA PLAY, at their own venue in Los Angeles, and also hosting an event simultaneously in London. Using this simul-event to announce their upcoming annual sports games like Madden and FIFA, discuss Star Wars, and Battlefield 1.

TITANFALL 2

After kicking off the show, Vince Zampella from Respawn Entertainment is introduced and happily acknowledges the leak from earlier in the morning: Titanfall 2 Story Mode:

Telling the tale of the connection between Pilot and Titan. They also showed off a very exciting Multiplayer trailer highlighting some of the new Titans and their abilities, as well as the new Pilot abilities.

Next up, we move over to the London crown where Peter Moore discusses Madden 2017, and EA’s focus on competitive gaming, and ESports. They want all players to feel like pro players with multiple tiers of competitive gaming events as well as Premiere and Major competitive global events. They finish that segment off with a video package of the best Madden players and the Madden major event, and the top 8 players are brought to the stage to get their spotlight.

MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA

Like last year, not a lot of news, but they do show a behind the scenes look at the making of this next huge arc in the story. No new gameplay, but they’re promising bigger worlds and a bigger story. And the game is now on the Frostbite engine. Frostbite was the big story of the day as FIFA 17 is also now on the Frostbite engine.

FIFA 17

The next version of the largest sports franchise in the world, FIFA, now on Frostbite also has a new mode called The Journey, which is a single player career mode where you play as a young up and coming star, Alex Hunter, and work your way up through the ranks to premiere, and deal with all the club, coaches, management, and fame along the way.

Peter Moore also announces that Premiere Managers will also play  part in the upcoming game.

EA Originals

Patrick Soderlund is back on stage in LA and reminds us about last year where we saw Unravel. Soderlund announces EA Originals, which is the studio’s focus on working with smaller innovative studios and helping them bringing their ideas to light. EA Originals first game is called FE, from a Swedish Studio call Zoink.

A very pretty, unique exploration title which boasts that no helpful hints will be given to the player. They are just asked to explore and interact with the forest and the creatures.

STAR WARS

Next up, Jade Raymond hits the stage and talks about everything Star Wars, and a look ahead at what the many studios under EA are working on. No real gameplay, but a reminder that teams at DICE are working on Battlefront, and Visceral is working on a title coming out in 2018, and even Respawn Entertainment is working on a Star Wars title.

BATTLEFIELD 1

Last up in today’s press conference is Battlefield 1.

A very intense gameplay trailer is shown. They announce that it’ll be playable on the floor this week at their event, and remind us that it has horses, and trench wars, and airships, and tanks, and 64 player online combat.


Overall, EA‘s showing was just OK. No surprises. Nothing new was announced. The Titanfall 2 game has me the most excited, but that had already been announced, as well as Battlefield 1. The gameplay for Titanfall 2 has me excited, as well as the release expected later this year. Battlefield 1 was announced a few weeks ago as well, so all they showed was a more robust gameplay trailer which didn’t show and real gameplay. But they did have a 1 hour gameplay reveal following the show and available on the demo floor. Star Wars news left us actually wanting something tangible, as well as the nothing-to-show Mass Effect talk. The simultaneous broadcast in both LA and London was a unique idea.

Overall, it left me wanting more.

Hopefully Bethesda has something more in store. On at 7pm later tonight.

-iRogan

Gamescom 2015: Cologne, Germany – EA Press Conference

ELECTRONIC ARTS Gamescom 2015 Media Briefing:

Wednesday, Aug 5th – 1am.


-EA’s press conference starts with a quick sizzle reel showcasing The Sims 4, Need For Speed, FIFA 16, Star Wars Battlefront, and Mirrors Edge Catalyst, along with their tag line “Live to Play”.

-ANDREW WILSON – EA CEO, takes the stage. Thanks German for hosting one of the largest game conventions, and points out that the games discussed today will feature on the game room floor. Introduced Need for Speed first.


Need For Speed

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-MARCUS NEILSSON – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, takes the stage and shows a quick trailer highlighting the 5 pivotal styles found in Need For Speed: Speed Icon, Style Icon, Build Icon, Crew Icon, Outlaw Icon.

-This years’ Need for Speed is 20 years of history to make the definitive NFS experience. 5 ways to play, and each way is based of a real world icon.

Need For Speed this year will showcase real-time compositing into the Frostbite engine, merging real world actors with in-game footage. NEILSSON leaves the stage with the new trailer showing.


Mirror’s Edge Catalyst

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-SARA JANSSON – SENIOR PRODUCER, takes the stage to discuss Mirror’s Edge and her love of the character, Faith. Mirror’s Edge has the freedom to explore combined with an immersive experience. With a hero at the center of everything: Faith.

-JANSSON states that Faith doesn’t need guns. Faith is the star of the game and its an origin story. Faith is a carefree runner, but a little bit reckless. The story will see Faith grow into the person we know.

-The world of Mirror’s Edge includes free-roaming, collectibles, and the companies that spark’s Faith’s journey.

-Trailer: Pre-alpha footage shows free-running and traversal similar to the first game. Wall running, and sliding, big jumps and rolling. Levels look less linear and more open, although less colour, and colourful flares highlight the objectives. More destructive elements: glass walls, lighting fixtures. Fast melee combat.


Star Wars The Old Republic

Star_Wars-_The_Old_Republic_cover-JAMES OHLEN takes the stage, and discusses the new expansion to The Old Republic called Knights of the Fallen Empire. “Become The Outlander” is the tagline. The ability to recruit companions and change destinies is mentioned. Choose the Light Side or the Dark Side is an option. The expansion includes the first 9 chapters and then the rest of the story will be released episodical.

-Game will carry over your existing character, or you can choose to create a brand new one. Release date is Oct 27, and is free for all current subscribers. OHLEN states that this expansion is a return to Bioware’s storytelling roots. A quick trailer wraps the segment.


Sims 4

-“You Create. You Control. You Rule” Live action trailer is shown to start the Sims 4 segment.

-RACHEL FRANKLIN takes the stage to discuss the new expansion.”Everything is up to you, you rule.” Sims 4 gets bigger and better every month. New expansion this November: Get Together. New world. Quick in-game trailer is shown.


Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

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-JEREMY VANHOOZER – SR. CREATIVE, takes the stage and states the in Garden Warfare 2, the script has been flipped and the Zombies have taken over, and plants are now on the attack.

-Recalls the previously noted 3 Zombies introduced at E3: Captain Deadbeard, Superbrains, and the Imp. Now introducing the 3 new plants: Rose, a sorceress, Kernal Korn and his dual machine guns, and Bouncing Orange, a citrus tank.

-Game now has solo-play and couch co-op across all modes. and introducing the new Playground Battleground. An open-world in-game hub. You can introduce friends into your game and then go to a warp game to start a new game.

-Pre-order’s get a Grass Effects spoofed Z7 mech custom armour for the Imp. Game is available Spring 2016. Gameplay trailer is shown, showcasing the space map on the moon.


Unraveled

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-PATRICK SODERLUND – EA EXECUTIVE VP, comes to the stage and is thankful for video games as they allow creativity, innovation, and passion. Making the next truly awesome game also involves risk. Screenshots are shown of some of the early concepts in development that could lead to the next awesome game.

-To show an example of creativity, innovation,passion and risk, Unraveled is up next.

-MARTIN SAHLIN comes to the stage and says he is just overwhelmed and stunned by the response to his game and Yarny. Slide show of the art, drawings, and Yarny dolls is shown. He encourages people to keep sending in their submissions.

-SAHLIN discusses games and how they can do proper good, and that they’re not just escapism. He says he is glad to be a part of this trend, and he wants to show us more Unraveled footage, promising this is still very early pre-alpha gameplay.

-Level: Sea. All the levels take place in Norther Sweden. The purpose is to make it to the end of each level without running out of yarn, but you can find more yarn throughout the level, The gameplay is all physics-based.

-The game looks gorgeous so far, and is all about overcoming obstacles and is really all about the wonder of discovery and beauty. Will be available on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.


Star Wars Battlefront

star-wars-battlefront-offers-first-look-at-fighter-squadron-mode-488398-2-SIGURLINA INGVARSDOTTIR – DICE, takes the stage to discuss Star Wars.The weapons and vehicles, the characters. Star Wars Battlefront is all about the thrill of living out our Star Wars fantasies. The game is all about fun, and the thrill of fighting for survival.

-Introducing new game mode: Fighter Squadron.

-Fighter Squadron is a 20 player dog fight mode. Game mode includes Tie Fighters, X-Wings, A-Wings, and Millenium Falcon. The game mode also supports an additional 20 AI fighter so that the action is always intense. This game mode has the most intense dog fights in video game history.

-Promises that Dice and EA still have a lot left to show before the November release. Trailer is shown for the full game including Walker Attack and Jedi fights.


FIFA 16

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-DAVID RUTTER – EA, takes the stage to discuss FUT Draft 16, the Fantasy Ultimate Team Draft. A quick trailer is shown with two legends picking a team and arguing and then playing the game. “What is the best choice: Best Players or Best Chemistry.” And you can bring your fantasy team online.

-New introductions to the game include: Pre-season tournament in career mode, and Player Training in career mode including up to 30 drills.

-Also new to ’16 includes 12 of the National Women’s teams, and promises more innovations across the entire pitch. ’16 promises to be the most balanced and most beautiful FIFA football game.

-9 iconic stadiums, new weather conditions including rain and fog. And 900 new crowd chants. A quick trailer is shown.


And that’s all for Gamescom 2015 press conferences. I’ll be attending PAX Prime 2015 so I’ll have lots of news and insights when I return. Aug 28-31.

-iRogan

IDL NEWS – The Catching Up Week, and Windows 10

Hi again! If you’re back reading this, it means I’m a decent blogger, right? I’ll add it to my resume!

So this week will be a combination of new news and old news as I start my catch-up from the past two weeks. While I was gone, I published a Top 10 Xbox 360 list and published a new short story. As well as started the run-down for Gamescom 2015. I’ll be adding new articles to that page as I get to it.

That said, the rest of the week should be the usual: News, New Games and Deals, What I’m Playing, possibly a review, and achievements.


Rise of the Tomb Raider Exclusivity
Square Enix has announced that the console exclusivity for Rise of the Tomb Raider would last one year. The Steam/ PC release would be early 2016, and the PS4 version likely available holiday 2016. No exact dates were revealed.

World of Tanks
Released on the Xbox One on July 28th, World of Tanks supports cross-platform play between the Xbox One and 360. Additionally, the Xbox One version features enhanced graphics and battle damage, and a new PVE mode for newer players. It’s free-to-play, so I’ll be providing my opinions of the Xbox One version when I jump in.

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Xbox’s Reverse Streaming
More on the Window’s 10 features and impressions later on, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed that Microsoft is currently looking into making it possible for Xbox One owners to stream PC games to their console now that the infrastructure is in place to do the opposite. This functionality would eliminate the need for a Steam Box.

New Battlefield Game in 2016?
EA has confirmed that a new Battlefield game will be released next year. EA has confirmed that a first-person-shooter over the next few years will be one of the core titles. Battlefield Hardline was released earlier in the year, and Star Wars Battlefront is late this year. I still haven’t completed Battlefield Hardline  but I hope to soon, to remove it from my ever-growing list of incomplete games.

Star Wars Battlefront News
A new multiplayer mode has been confirmed for Battlefront, in Blast, which will give the players smaller, close-quarters encounters instead of the featured large-scale battles.

10 versus 10 team deathmatch face-off between Imperials and Rebel forces. Winning team is the first to reach 100 kills or lead the way after 10 minutes. Maps won’t be scaled down version of the regular modes, but specifically designed close-quarters maps taking place within interiors of several key settings.

Destiny’s Dreadnaught
The Dreadnaught is a brand new playable environment coming with the next Destiny expansion, The Taken King. The Dreadnaught is the home of the Hive enemy class. It will proved the setting  for the upcoming campaign missions as well as Patrol and public events too. The new strike and strike boss, Darkblade, will be fought aboard the Dreadnaught. Expect more destiny news as we approach the September release.

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I upgraded to Windows 10 when I came back, and so far I’m really impressed. It has a cleaner interface, and improved navigation, especially for tablets (which I use primarily). Now I haven’t used it to its full potential, and never will, but the Xbox App was the most important feature to me, and it’s incredible.

It has a very impressive feature set and works seamlessly with the Xbox One in the same room. It’s more robust than the smart glass app, and supports Xbox parties and game DVR. The last feature I tried was the Xbox Streaming, and with a Xbox controller wired in, it nearly works seamless. A little graphics loss, to be expected, but it did glitch out when I tried plugging in headphones to the tablet. Could be a hardware issues, so I’ll have to look into it further.

The Xbox app drops you into the Home screen when you log in. This looks similar to the Xbox One home, where it shows you the activity feed and friends list on the right. It will also show you your current party, last played game, and menus for customization, Achievements and friend options.

On the right is your menu: Home, My Games, Messages, Activity Alerts, Achievements, Game DVR, Store, OneGuide, Connecting to the Xbox One and Settings.

It’s not 100% polished yet, but it’s very impressive already with more TV DVR options in the future.


Tomorrow, I’ll continue with the news catch-up, new game releases, game deals and Games with Gold discussion.

-iRogan