Spectre

Jim Sterling pretty much summed up how shady and unethical business are taking over the gaming industry in order to please shareholders. Loot boxes were indeed born in TF2, Overwatch just made them popular for financially ravenous publishers. Since the whole concept of "gambling for virtual items" has been sitting in a gray area for a long time, it will just continue to be exploited until lawmakers catch up. UK has already brought up Loot boxes into its parliament last month as far as I know, might take forever for something to be done about it though. Now I'm just curious if EA costumers will finally vote with their wallets. After doing some simple math, if every single person who downvoted the EA comment on Reddit canceled their pre-order, that would be a $24 million loss on EA's bank balance (assuming everyone bought the $60 dollars version). But still, if Battlefront 2 meets the promised earnings for its shareholders nothing will change. Oh... and speaking of poorly timed marketing decisions... That goes without mentioning about the review copies for Battlefront 2 having a lower amount of credits required to unlock heroes to avoid review bombs. Slimy bastards. EA's PR train wreck is the gift that keeps on giving.

In my book, if you charge $60 dollars for your game, you lose every single right to implement F2P microtransactions/lootboxes bullsh*t related to in-game progression. Selling games as a service is what most publishers are seeking to exploit and experiment how far they can push/milk their costumers without suffering huge PR backlashes. I'm fairly certain Titanfall 3 will suffer the same fate now that EA finished off Visceral and bought Respawn. After witnessing what just happened to Battlefront 2 I just lost my hope on Anthem. That goes without mentioning that Bioware is certainly not far from EA's chopping block. Edit: Holy moley! The EA developer response on reddit just broke 100k downvotes.

Not sure if anyone else posted it already... As if the whole Battlefront 2 pay-to-progress/lootbox debacle was already bothering the Star Wars fanbase, an EA representative now owns the top spot on the most downvoted comment on the history of Reddit. Fun fact: Battlefront 2 community manager also tossed more fuel into the fire by insulting the Battlefront 2 community (he deleted the tweet but the internet never forgets). Apparently spending $60 $80 dollars on a EA Star Wars game nowadays is not enough if you want to play as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.

Looks like someone finally joined the ranks of Battleborn this week. Even with an average of less than a hundred players a day, it might not be the end. I once though The Division and Rainbow Six Siege would suffer the same fate as the playerbase gradually dropped. Oh well... at least we still have Quake Champions right?

I should have probably mentioned the latest internet drama that happened this week. For those wondering how on earth Destiny became unexpectedly related to alt-right propaganda... Don't worry though. By the time the PC version gets released they should have this problem sorted out as it has already become a priority. Still... it kinda baffles me how ironic memes can be taken so seriously whenever it gets widespread media attention. I personally would never have spotted "kek" on one of the Hunter gauntlets if no one had mentioned it. Now I wonder if someone will eventually spot "Pepe" somewhere else in-game...

So... after 2 weeks since the console release... I can certainly say that Destiny 2 content is not a major disappointment as I was expecting to be. The game so far has proved to learn from its mistakes on the first installment, the developers have certainly put a lot of effort to avoid running into the same issues that made Destiny 1 vanilla an awful experience. Then again, I should remind that Destiny 2 is not a game for everyone, if you enjoy end-game content that follows the principle of "acquiring power/loot so you can defeat stronger enemies so you can get even more power/loot to defeat even stronger enemies" then this game might be the PvE shooter you have been looking for. End-game gear farming is not limited to Strikes anymore. You can now continue to progress by doing quests or public events on the now improved "Patrol mode". That alone makes up for the small amount of Strikes available (only five). Get enough gear and five teammates and you can run a "Raid" for even better loot and some "Dark Souls" satisfaction after beating certain encounters. Although, for someone who got used to the "Raids" on Destiny 1, I personally felt a little disappointed with the new "Leviathan" Raid that was released recently, specially due to the lack of boss sections. I will say however, if you never done a Destiny "Raid activity" before and you like challenges that rely on everyone's commitment, you will most likely find the "Leviathan" quite enjoyable. Running the Raid blind and figuring out the complex mechanics is one the best and short lived aspects of this PvE content. Though I doubt many will run the "Leviathan" blind on PC, there are full playthroughs and guides available already for all four sections of the Raid if you don't feel like spending up to six hours with your teammates banging your heads against a wall trying to figure out what to do. Anyway, the PC release is still a month away unfortunately. The first DLC content "The Curse of Osiris" will be available by the end of December as Microsoft already leaked some of its content.

That's the reason I quit Overwatch competitive mode. Worst part is, you have no idea how toxic the environment becomes after you reach Diamond. You will get mercilessly (pun not intended) reported by: Not playing the season meta. Being too good on some instances (enemy team will most likely file a report under "cheating") Being the only Platinum ranked player while all your teammates are Diamond and above, and your team loses. Picking Bastion. Picking Hanzo/Widowmaker without a golden weapon equipped. After season 4, I stopped recommending Overwatch to pretty much anyone. Specially after the salty competitive tryhards decided to vent their rage on Quick Play and start to judge casual players by their competitive rank or lack of golden weapons. Its utterly disgusting to say the least and Blizzard is taking too much time do something about it.

Since I have a soft spot for PvE shooters, I'm planning to give the beta a try this weekend. From what I have seen already, it looks like a heavily modded Payday 2 set in WW2. They should definitely do something regarding the enemy models however, as from the in-game footage, I'm having the same issue as aabicus. The color pattern used blends with the environment on some instances. Also, if they plan to recycle the vehicle coding from Payday 2 we might have some interesting heists. For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that WW2 might become the next trend in gaming media during the next few years. Which seems like a nice change given the unusual lack of WW2 themed games nowadays. EA is most likely planning to reboot Battlefield 1942 soon depending on the feedback CoD WW2 receives.

So the beta ended today. Hopefully the majority of spuf got at least a chance to check if the Destiny franchise is interesting/boring without having to spend sixty dollars or getting a console. I even personally took Medic into my fireteam on one instance, but I don't think I'll probably see her anytime soon in-game anymore (we both look forward to "Plains of Eidolon" though). Can't blame her, the Beta lacked a proper tutorial on some major mechanics from the start for newcomers. Had they placed an image of the default keyboard bindings before the first story mission started I'm sure everyone's experience would have been more enjoyable. Anyway... consoles will have the game already next week, the six man Raid will be released on following week (so much for getting a group together to do the Raid blind on PC). Also, a recent leak just revealed ALL exotics, PvE story missions and strikes available on the full release. Needless to say, the amount of PvE content available is... concerning. Add the fact/salt that PS4 will get a temporary YEAR LONG exclusivity on: a PvE Strike "Lake of Shadows", one exotic weapon "Borealis" (not that one), besides some PvP maps and cosmetic stuff. Another interesting fact regarding voice actors, did you know Peter Dinklage voiced the Ghost during the first year of Destiny 1? Bungie had to sign a contract with Nolan North later since they couldn't get Dinklage available more often as he was busy with Game of Thrones. The Ghost went completely mute during the first two Destiny 1 DLCs because of that. Worse part was that once they updated the game with "The Taken King", all Dinklage's voice lines were completely removed and swapped with North's. No in-game option to switch back to the previous voice was added unfortunately.

That is probably what happened most likely. Funny thing is, FromSoftware already made a very similar mistake back in Dark Souls 2. You could cheat, get banned, but the issued ban remained stored on your hard drive... yes, stored on a file on your computer. Needless to say i didn't take too long for cheaters to find out they could manually unban themselves.

Made my day. Their QA certainly does not disappoint in sourcing development meltdowns. Sad part is that I think someone from their Network Security branch is getting fired later this week. Ironic. Bethesda's Creation Club could save others from using third party mod websites, but not itself.

Geez! Can we stop this whole conspiracy theory already? It was funny a few weeks ago... I already regret getting carried away by the hype train and proceeding to post on Spuf. Getting uncomfortable memories from the last time I recommended Mass Effect Andromeda to a bunch of friends, getting bullied about it for months its not something I would wish to anyone. Having to wait 2 months for the PC release will already be a hard pill to swallow. Spoilers will be everywhere and the 6 player Raid will be available most likely. That being said, I advise AGAINST purchasing Destiny 2 for now. I will be compiling a draft for a spuf.org article later this weekend explaining the whole season pass + separate DLC debacle that happened during Destiny 1 lifetime so newcomers don't regret making the same mistakes I did. Trust me. You don't want to be on the hype train when it eventually derails straight into the salt factory.

Oh boy... I should have put a HUGE disclaimer regarding Destiny PvP on PC. Plug in an Xbox controller and literally have a legalized aimbot. Aim assist is higher than the console beta so you can easily outplay keyboard + mouse players with Pulse Rifles or most weapons. No, that was not a joke btw. Fun fact: Handcannons were the least competent weapons on Destiny 2 console PvP. Never thought I'd see the day an analog stick would outperform a mouse on a Fps. Done a few matches using an Xbox controller + NightShade (Pulse Rifle) already. Made me wish I could report myself at end game scoreboard. I felt like I was literally playing Soldier76 with passive ult. Ironic... KB + Mouse on consoles wrecks controller players. But a controller on PC wrecks KB + Mouse users thanks to ludicrous aim assist benefits. Then again, OW had the exact same issue during the Beta. That's why they completely removed aim assist on the PC release.

Amazing article as always. Been wondering for a while how the game would be seen from the eyes of someone who never played it before. From day one, I feared Destiny 2 might scare away potential new players, specially those on PC, with poorly introduced stuff right from the start. I will probably try writing a follow-up draft from the perspective of a veteran during the weekend. Gonna have to set up my Ol' Xbox so I can source some screencaps from Destiny 1 (don't think articles with zero images will make a good first impression). Still a shame that even long dedicated Destiny fans like myself consider the new game a risky investment right now.

It is unfortunate that some spuf users are having issues with loading times and others simply just crashing. Seems that as far as optimization goes, it might be a hit or miss depending on your PC build. That being said... loading times get considerably shorter after you play a little bit since it takes a while to pre-cache stuff on your first startup ever. You might experience some stuttering here and there on PvP maps however. Don't even get me stated on loading times on consoles though. Comparing to PC they are stupid long. Even for a 4 year Destiny franchise veteran I would advise to NOT consider spending your money on Destiny 2 + Season Pass right now, as the provided content at launch might not be even worth sixty dollars at least. Destiny 1 for reference, became a sixty dollar product one year after launch with "The Taken King" reboot/expansion, which was NOT included in the Season Pass. Then again, that is probably a topic for a draft I'll try to submit later on spuf.org. For now... do give PvE portion of the Beta a try if you haven't already. Who knows... you might find a game worth a look later next year.

I'm I the only one wondering if the guy who published pubg forgot to toggle Caps Lock when he submitted it on the Steam Store? my guess is that, given the amount of players, it might take a while until new trend starts to take over Twitch. This one didn't last too long. Neither did this one.

Yep. I'm already prepared to be disappointed. Playing safe is the way to go. (Overwatch wasn't a let down though)

I can already foresee Epic Games huge investment "Fortnite" following the exact same path. The game will even be F2P starting next year. Hell! Fortnite was first announced back in 2011. Here's a five year old trailer. Left 4 Dead 2 was still a thing back then.

Well that was an disastrous unexpected turn of events. Now I'm just curious on what will happen inside this thread next week. (spoiler: probably nothing exceptional) I wonder if you could write an article about it on The Daily Spuf (even if it is biased) if you get to try the open beta. You might even get to enjoy it until the open world "Plains of Eidolon" in Warframe gets released. I might even learn something no one ever criticized before. I never expected anyone to feel uncomfortable with Overwatch visual effects.

I wish. I had the feeling I would give that impression sooner or later. Well... if I was, I would need to be completely biased however. Not being honest doesn't match my profile. That's why I didn't continue my studies in journalism. I'm more than willing to bash Activision and expose their latest work major flaws. As for my suffering, I'll spoil that as an almost full time PC user, I had to endure years of getting used play an fps with a controller, besides trying to convince console players to install and use Discord instead of the unreliable Xbox voice chat. Can't say I'm not hyped however. For me, its like if Overwatch was a console exclusive for years and it is just now receiving a PC release.

Ever wondered if an active non-toxic gaming community exists? I kept asking myself the same question after TF2 left its golden age and I witnessed the Overwatch playerbase to slowly start to increase its toxic level, until I found out the Destiny franchise four years ago. With Destiny being a primarily focused PvE action first person shooter, the game despite its many flaws, has a very friendly community always willing to help you. Whether you are a complete noob or a long time veteran, no one will complain about your class/loadout when you are carrying your teammates through cooperative missions or dying miserably during a Raid and calling a wipe. The franchise will also be available on PC for the first time ever. An Open Beta for Destiny 2 is scheduled next week on August 29th if you haven't heard it already. This might be your best and last chance to give the game a try without having shell out sixty bucks on it and not knowing what exactly are you getting yourself into. Be aware however, the only three player PvE activity available during the beta will be "The Inverted Spire" strike. There is also a newbie friendly thread on the Digital Gaming section that should give you a brief rundown on Destiny 2 and its predecessor. I can definitely vouch for that. One of my friends gave me an extremely similar recommendation regarding Heroes of the Storm a few weeks ago after I told him I hated the moba genre for years. Even though I was skeptical at first, I gave it a try and been unexpectedly surprised so far. I loved how Blizzard managed to get rid of items and keep the interface clean and easy to learn. Different maps with dynamic objectives and layouts were also icing on the cake. The best part for me was knowing that you (or your opponents) could score a comeback at any minute during most matches, unlike other mobas where by the time ten in-game minutes pass you know which team has a clear advantage.

I feel like a piece of my soul died today after hearing the news and taking my time to read through Marc Leidlaw's gift to us. It's ironic that Steam probably wouldn't exist without Half Life 2, and Half Life 3 does not exist because of Steam. And so it ends. Funny how Harvey Dent's legacy still lives on... Valve finally lived long enough to see themselves become the villain. Seems fitting: "There was life, and He spoke unto it; and it was silent, and lived no more."

Quick update. So... Destiny 2 PC Beta pre-load is live... if you pre-ordered it (which I highly encourage not to). Open beta players will only be able to download it on 08/29 unfortunately. The beta client size is 16GB. Hope you all get a chance to at least check if Destiny 2 is a worthy investment soon. No flavor text for you as Bungie's armory/database is ded.

Dear lord! We literally got ourselves Battleborn's successor. It might even share the grave with For Honor sooner than I expected. As a long time Unreal Tournament fan I had high hopes for Lawbreakers, quite a shame to see how things turned out. All it needed was a bigger playerbase. Let's see how long it takes until it turns Free to Play. No. Keep questions/concerns regarding Destiny 2 on this thread instead.

Oh c'mon... let's keep things friendly in here. I'm just encouraging spuf users to give Destiny 2 a try since its the first time it will not be available exclusively on filthy consoles. After TF2 development stopped and Borderlands 3 is nowhere to be seen, Destiny 1 kept me busy for almost 3 years despite its downsides. I'm completely aware on how it can be controversial to promote an Activision game. However, give the free Beta a try on 08/29 and see it for yourself. If you don't like it don't buy it. Same concern here. Not pre-ordering now will only block you from accessing an Exotic weapon for a month on PC (available for everyone on December 5), which doesn't seem like a big deal at all. I also felt a little disappointed on the console Beta after testing the changes to the weapons slots and less subclass variety. Then again, the Beta build was 4 months old as the developers mentioned it, a lot of changes are in place in the current internal build. However, another concerning aspect was the lack of content to explore on the Beta (one Story mission, one Strike and two PvP maps and gamemodes), as they claim they want to keep almost everything "story related" under the curtains until the release date. Here I'm just hoping there is some adjustments in place on PvE damage during the PC Beta build, as the console Beta gave me The Division bullet sponge flashbacks. "What you have seen will mark you forever."