Battle Breakers was a tactical RPG set in a universe where science fiction and fantasy met. Collect a group of heroes and rid the kingdom of threatening space monsters using both a variety of colorful abilities and wit.
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Publisher: Epic Games Type: Tactics RPG Release Date: November 13, 2019 Shut Down: December 30, 2022 Pros: +Vibrant art style. +Unreal Engine 4. +Fantasy meets Sci-Fi setting. Cons: -Poor animations. -Clunky UI.
Ah yes, the question as old as MMOs: should developers sell gold themselves? Why let the black market reap the benefits of chat spam alone when you can open up a cash shop and price a stack at $14.99? After all, there is almost no way to stop gold sellers, at least not yet. Black markets always find a way.
So, is the solution just to embrace it?
Should developers sell gold in their MMORPGs? Let us know in the comments below!
You know you're a gamer when you watch the MMOs.com Podcast: featuring the best Hail Mary's in the industry. Tonight we're slapping chunky meat together in Conan Exiles, the only game with more flapping genitals than the Super Bowl.
When: That depends on where you live:
7PM EST
4PM PST
Watch the MMOs.com chant "I am with the force and the force is with me," again and again and again and again on this weeks Grindfest Friday, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Ubisoft's upcoming hack-and-slash game For Honor goes into Open Beta on February 9th, and lasts until the 12th, across all platforms. The game launches in full on February 14th, the perfect gift for your Valentine.
In ForHonor players swear their allegiance to one of three factions: Knights, Samurai, or Vikings, and then slice through one another's armor in all-out war, or the campaign.
But what would an Ubisoft game be without a Season Pass? Another company's game. So we've also got Season Pass rewards if you choose to purchase:
Early access to six new heroes.
Elite outfits.
A sun beam emote.
Champion status: extra experience and more loot.
And don't forget access to future DLC.
Besides early access heroes, players will be able to purchase the other Season Pass rewards once the game launches on the 14th. You can get the Season Pass by purchasing the $100 edition of the game. I'll wait until Open Beta before swiping my card.
For Honor Trailer: Season Pass & Post Launch (DLC)
A European Commission is investigating Valve for possible geo-blocking practices: stifling competition between EU Member States. What's going on here. Well, the commission is worried that region restricting CD keys prevents people from finding better deals for games, e.g. you see a great sale for Elder Scrolls Online but the key is region locked to Germany, and you live in the Czech Republic.
The Commission is investigating bilateral agreements concluded between Valve Corporation, owner of the Steam game distribution platform, and five PC video game publishers, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax.
Valve and the aforementioned publishers might be breaking EU competition rules, if the committee finds them guilty. Be my guest, let players find the possible deals for game and let the marketplace compete.
Rocket League is rocketing into toy aisles in the Spring after joining the same team as Zag Toys. The company today that they will be releasing a set of 12 Pull Back Racers: the kind of car where you roll it backwards across a surface, let go, and watch it zip forward with a whirring sound.
Octane, Dominus, Masamune, Hotshot, Grog, X-Devil, Merc, and Backfire will all be part of the new Original Minis line, along with four limited variants to round out the first dozen Racers.
Some of the miniatures will have exclusive codes that be redeemed for a special in-game booster trailer and wheel.
It's pretty fun news. Think Rocket League can outrace Hot Wheels?
Diablo 3's latest PTR Patch (2.5.0) will enable players to save up to 5 builds by using the Armory. In hindsight, it seems like a quality of life feature that should have been around from the beginning. That's how it always goes. When you equip a saved build it will automatically swap your gear and items, between your inventory and the stash.
Also in 2.5.0, another tier of legendary items: Primal Ancient Items. When you uncover a legendary or set item, it has a chance of rolling as a Primal Ancient, rarer than Ancient, and with increased stat ranges—a given. You like RNG don't ya?
There are of course other adjustments which you can read about in the full patch notes. Just remember, it's a PTR patch so the specifics are subject to change.
In 2016 the mobile games market earned $40.6 billion, the same amount as global box office sales—the first factoid in SuperData's 2016 Mobile Games Report. A proper summary is, "mobile is killing it."
Remember, this was the year Pokemon GO released and generated a billion on its own since launch. And big dogs like Nintendo, with Super Mario Run, and Activision Blizzard's acquisition of King, and Tencents purchase of SuperCell, means the titans of the industry are joining the fray. 2017 ought to be interesting.
The biggest surprise to me is that in 2016 United States mobile users spent more time playing mobile games than they did watching Hulu, YouTube, or Netflix. It follows that mobile engagement grew 19% year over year, "mobile gamers logged on in Q4 2016 an average of three times a day, spending 10 minutes playing each time."
In total Asia makes up the largest chunk of the mobile market, generating $24.8 billion, in large part thanks to China's 1 billion mobile players. But Korea and Japan are also willing to open their wallets: "Koreans spent almost $60 in an average month while Japanese spenders shelled out $70."
"The U.S. is the only country with more players on iOS than Android."
And how is mobile VR doing? In total VR made 1.8 billion, and Samsung Gear VR led the charge with 4.5 million devices sold. Makes sense. It's far cheaper to enter virtual reality with a mobile device. Here's a shocking stat, to me at least, an average mobile VR session was equivalent with a typical gaming session. The average mobile VR owner uses their device far more than I've used my Rift.
Smite has launched season 4, and released a big ol' update alongside it: new map, new items, new visuals, and a whole bunch more new.
“In Season 4, we are updating some of our core features of SMITE. Ranked is receiving a revamp to its structure, T-Screen makes its return, and players who have Diamond Mastered gods will have new forms of progression available to them.”
Explore Egypt at the height of its civilization on the new battleground, Clash. "This overwhelmingly popular 5v5 mode sits between Arena and Conquest in terms of complexity, bringing both constant action and an accessible form of MOBA strategy." The map also features a fight with the chaos serpent Apophis.
There are more than 70 updated and new items awaiting players this season, including redone starter items. Plus there are now Rituals: "single-use-per-purchase consumables that provide a powerful Relic-like effect."
Of course, the Gods have been reworked, some just visually such as Vamana, while others have had their abilities redefined, such as Hel.
And season 4 introduces three ladder splits, between Spring, Summer, and Fall, so that the ladder will be reset after each split ends.
You can watch the video below for a complete overview with visuals.
SMITE 4.1 Patch Overview - Season Four (January 31, 2017)
