Category: Gamespot

Following the news yesterday that BioWare had canceled Mass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer beta, the developer has now apologized for that and explained why it was necessary.

“Sorry we won’t have [a multiplayer technical test],” producer Fernando Melo said on Twitter. “I know many were looking forward to it (as were we). Long story but right decision for how close we are to [going] live.”

He added: “[Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer] has had the most [extensive] user testing we’ve ever done.”

Melo also mentioned that there was a closed alpha for Andromeda earlier this year that was held on retail consoles, so the game has been tested in the wild.

In another tweet, Melo said Andromeda’s multiplayer is “very alive … and awesome.”

People who attend PAX East this month in Boston can play the multiplayer mode. Additionally, EA/Origin Access subscribers can get a crack at the entire game ahead of launch when it arrives for the subscription service on March 16.

Finally, Melo teased that BioWare still has more to announce about Andromeda’s multiplayer. He kicked things off with an image of the mode’s character selection screen; check it out below.

Andromeda’s multiplayer will tie into the game’s campaign. In terms of gameplay, you can expect to be on the move more often than in Mass Effect 3. Whereas that game often saw players often stay in a fixed location they could defend, Andromeda will throw new enemy types at you that force you into or out of cover.

Andromeda will not have a season pass. There is likely to be DLC for the game, but it remains to be seen how it will be released. BioWare has said it is plans to discuss specifics at a later date.

The full game launches on March 21 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. For more, check out all of GameSpot’s written coverage and videos here.

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Horizon Zero Dawn‘s release this week has not gone entirely to plan. Developer Guerrilla Games wrote on Twitter to say that it is aware of an issue where some players are having difficulty viewing the game’s opening cinematic. The studio is looking into the matter and apologized for the issue.

It is not immediately clear how widespread the issue is. People on GameSpot sister site GameFaqs are reporting that Horizon Zero Dawn crashes when the opening cinematic begins.

Guerrilla said in a post on Reddit that it is “looking at the problem and investigating solutions.” We will report back with more details on the issue as they become available.

If you’re one of the players who can’t view the opening cinematic, you can watch it right now through the video embed above. It is a particularly grand sequence, setting up the story for the post-apocalyptic game in which machines rule the Earth.

Horizon Zero Dawn is available now on PlayStation 4. The game received a chorus of praise, including a 9/10 score from GameSpot.

“This is first departure from the Killzone series for developer Guerrilla Games, and though you might think the team took a risk by stepping out of its FPS comfort zone to create a third-person open-world action game, you’d never know it was their first rodeo,” reviewer Peter Brown said. “For every minor imperfection, there’s an element of greatness that recharges your desire to keep fighting and exploring Zero Dawn’s beautiful and perilous world. Guerrilla Games has delivered one of the best open-world games of this generation, and redefined its team’s reputation in the process.”

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Microsoft has shared a few more details about its recently announced Xbox Game Pass subscription service. After Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Game Pass does not impact Games With Gold, marketing boss Aaron Greenberg talked on Twitter about home sharing, gifting, and more.

Asked if Microsoft would let users purchase an Xbox Game Pass membership and gift it to a friend, Greenberg said this is not a confirmed feature but he likes the idea. Greenberg also confirmed that Xbox Game Pass will only have a month-by-month subscription option available, priced at $10. The similar EA Access program is offered for $5/month or $30/year.

Additionally, Greenberg said Xbox Game Pass can be shared as part of Xbox One’s home-sharing policy.

A beta version of Xbox Game Pass is currently available on Xbox One for testers; the service is expected to launch for all Xbox One owners this spring, though a specific date has not been announced.

There will more than 100 games in the Xbox Game Pass library, spread across Xbox One titles and Xbox 360 games that play on the new console through backwards compatibility.

There are more than 10 confirmed titles already, including Halo 5, Fable III, and Payday 2–you can see all the confirmed games so far here.

The announcement of Xbox Game Pass wasn’t well-received by everyone, it seems, as GameStop’s stock value took a dramatic hit after the reveal.

For lots more on Xbox Game Pass, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage here.

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A new batch of Iron Fist images have been released by Netflix. The latest Marvel show hits the streaming service this month, and these new pictures tease some of the upcoming action, as well as provide a look behind the scenes. Check them out in the gallery below:

The first trailer for the show was released last month and was followed by a brutal clip showing the deadly Colleen Wing in action. We’ve also had a making-of featurette.

Iron Fist stars Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) as Danny Rand, a martial arts master with supernatural abilities. It also stars David Wenham, Jessica Stroup, and Tom Pelphrey. In addition, Carrie-Anne Moss and Rosario Dawson are set to reprise their roles as Jeri Hogarth and Claire Temple from Jessica Jones and Daredevil.

In a recent interview with Collider, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb explained how Iron Fist would differ from the studio’s previous Netflix shows. “It was always our intent when we set out to tell each of the Netflix stories that they’re part of a piece, but at the same token, you should be able to watch each of them individually,” he said. “Daredevil is not like Jessica Jones, which is not like Luke [Cage], which should not be like Danny.

“We’re dealing with a character who is younger than the rest of the cast and who also has a certain kind of optimism and hope about him that brings a certain thing to it. Don’t make any mistake about it, this is Marvel’s foray into martial arts films, and when he opens up a can of whoop-ass, people are going to be super-super excited by what’s happening.”

The events of Iron Fist will tie into The Defenders, the superhero team-up show that will also feature Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. The first season is expected in late 2017–click here to see official images.

In terms of other Marvel Netflix shows, The Punisher will also debut in 2017. A third season of Daredevil and second for both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are also in the works.

Iron Fist Season 1 hits Netflix in its entirety on March 17, 2017.

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Xbox Game Pass, a Netflix-like subscription service for Xbox One that gives members access to a catalog of free Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, was announced on Tuesday. After its reveal, some wondered what it might mean for the future of the Games With Gold program.

Microsoft has now explained that Games With Gold and Xbox Game Pass will live alongside each other.

“Games with Gold and Xbox Game Pass are two different service offerings with unique benefits,” a Microsoft representative said in a statement to Kotaku. “Games with Gold is an added benefit specific to Xbox Live Gold members that rewards players with two to four free games each month to enjoy. Xbox Game Pass is a subscription-based service that gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 backward compatible games for Xbox One for $9.99 USD per month. Xbox Live Gold is not required for Xbox Game Pass, however, Xbox Live Gold is required for multiplayer titles that are part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog.”

The Microsoft spokesperson also clarified that the Xbox Game Pass catalog will update every month; only “sometimes” will games be removed. You will be able to play all the games in the library for as long as you remain a subscriber. If you cancel your subscription or a game is removed, save data is stored to your account so you can pick up where you left off in the future should you decide to re-subscribe or buy a game.

Xbox Game Pass is currently available on Xbox One for people in the Xbox Insider Program for testing (with a limited selection of titles) before its public rollout; that is slated for sometime this spring.

Microsoft says it aims to stock the Xbox Game Pass library with titles across a number of popular genres, including action, adventure, shooter, puzzle, strategy, and RPG. There are more than 10 confirmed titles already, including Halo 5, Fable III, and Payday 2–you can see all the confirmed games so far here.

The announcement of Xbox Game Pass wasn’t good news for everyone, it seems, as GameStop’s stock value took a dramatic hit after the reveal.

For lots more on Xbox Game Pass, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage here.

As for Games With Gold, the first of March 2017’s freebies are now available.

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This week at the Game Developers Conference, Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda announced a “long-term strategic partnership” with chip-maker AMD. Bethesda said fans can expected to see “unprecedented performance” from new technologies as a result of the partnership.

A press release from AMD explains that the partnership is for multiple games. Bethesda and AMD will “collaborate to develop and accelerate the implementation of new technologies, including the full potential of low-level APIs, such as Vulkan, and the computing and graphics power of AMD Ryzen CPUs, Radeon GPUs, and AMD server solutions across existing Bethesda franchises,” the release says.

AMD added: “The close-knit strategic partnership will combine hardware, software, and game engineering talents at both companies with the creative genius of Bethesda content developers to deliver extraordinary experiences on upcoming hardware architectures.”

AMD’s Raja Koduri said in a statement that Bethesda is an “undisputed leader” in gaming and was the right partner to work with during what he called a “transformative period in gaming.”

“This is a disruptive moment in the industry as games demand increasingly more power from today’s graphics architectures to deliver detailed worlds and characters at ever higher resolutions, frame rates, and quality settings,” Koduri explained.

Bethesda president Vlatko Andonov said of the partnership, “Our relationship with AMD represents an exciting and powerful opportunity for Bethesda to further advance game experiences for our fans, significantly expand our presence in gaming and VR, and engage with new generations of gamers around the world.”

Bethesda Game Studios, the team that made Fallout 4 and Skyrim, currently has seven projects in the works, including some that are bigger than anything the developer has made before.

“They’re a bit different, but definitely in the wheelhouse that people are used to from us,” game director Todd Howard said.

For more, check out GameSpot’s interview feature below:

• Todd Howard On The Future Of RPGs, Open-World Games, And Nintendo Switch

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