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CDPR has never been afraid of digging deep into Gwent and changing its very fundamentals if they were found to be problematic. They changed how weather functions multiple times, they created entirely new archetypes, they reworked factions from the ground up, and now they're reshuffling the overall power level of cards.
The value of Bronze cards has gone significantly up, previously useless archetypes such as Norther Realms Armor or Scoia'Tael Mulligan are now genuinely powerful, and perhaps most importantly of all, Gold cards are no longer immune to damage and lock effects! As you might imagine, this has brought with it a significant shift in how Gwent's played as previously powerful Round 3 finishers are now easily dealt with, while more tempo-orientated decks are finding it harder to get punished for over-extension. Whether this is going to end up being good or bad, I must admit I have no idea, but its certainly an interesting period in Gwent's development!
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After an extremely short break Overwatch's Competitive Play mode has now returned with Season 6 in tow. While Season 5 may have been a bit of a mess, to put things lightly, Season 6 appears to be starting things off on the right foot. Placement matches are now more accurate and no longer artificially lower your Skill Rating, high SR queue times have been increased in order to provide better matches, the report system has been made significantly more strict, and a variety of previously underpowered heroes have been buffed to competitive viability... and this actually includes Roadhog as well!
If you're looking for all of the details you'll find the patch notes over at the Blizzard website. For those of you just interested in the hero changes, however, allow me to give you the brief list. Have a look:
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Gamescom 2017 has brought with it an absolute treasure trove of Total War: Warhammer 2 announcements and gameplay previews. Just the past week or so Creative Assembly has released a detailed image of the Vortex campaign map, a brief video overview of all the starting positions and potential opponents, a lengthy video showing off the Dark Elf campaign mechanics and rituals, and even a gameplay video featuring a large battle between Dark Elves and High Elves!
While the most recent announcement is not exactly on the same level, you might still be interested to hear that Creative Assembly has now revealed all of Total War: Warhammer 2's achievements. There's far too many to list out, so if you're interested in browsing through all of them you'll find what you seek on the Total War Blog. That said, I do have one very intriguing achievement to highlight:
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Tropico 6, as you're no doubt aware by this point, is an upcoming 'banana republic simulator' that will give you the ability to completely ruin your nation in whichever way you like. Besides all of the standard features, the newest installment in the series will bring with it the largest landmass so far, revised research and political systems, cooperative and competitive multiplayer, as well as some greatly improved visuals.
While the most recent gamescom video does not cover any of the gameplay improvements, it does a rather good job of showcasing the fancy new visuals. So if you're interested in a brief glance at what Tropico 6 has to offer, you'll find the video right below. Have a look:
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[Update]: The long wait is now finally over - Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has now arrived onto Steam Early Access!
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has initially been announced in the ancient times of 2012, after which the developers have gone relatively quiet, releasing only bits of information and gameplay footage here and there. While its launch date is still shrouded in mystery, I am very glad to say that according to all of the gamescom footage Bannerlord is shaping up to be pretty damn excellent!
Since there is no better way to prove this than to show you the actual footage, allow me to share with you the recently posted Battania vs Empire gameplay video. Its about nine minutes long and mostly focused on the "Captain Mode", but it should still give you a good idea of what to expect from Bannerlord. Have a look:
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Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is an upcoming visual novel spiced up with adventure game elements and a story that is both hilarious and absolutely insane at the same time. After being available on Japanese consoles for a little while now Killing Harmony will be making its way to PC and Steam on September 26th.
While Killing Harmony and the entirety of the Danganronpa series are well regarded and often positively reviewed, they're not exactly games that appeal to a wide assortment of people. Thankfully, the PC version of Killing Harmony now has a free demo available, so if you ever wanted to give the series a try now would be the best time to do so. Simply head over to Steam, click the play game button, and you'll be doing the bidding of an evil teddy bear in no time.
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Creative Assembly has been on an absolute rampage with Total War: Warhammer 2 videos this week. They've already showcased the entirety of the Vortex map as well as the Dark Elf campaign and their unique mechanics, and now they have also released an extended gameplay video featuring a massive battle between Dark Elves and High Elves.
So if you're interested in seeing what sort of toys the Dark Elves get to play around with, as well as how the Black Ark's bombardment ability works in battle, you'll find what you seek in the video below. Have a look, its pretty damn awesome:
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As I've mentioned in my initial review for Tyranny, Obsidian ended the campaign in such an anticlimactic way that it was practically guaranteed they were planning to do an expansion or sequel. Quite a few months have passed since then, but soon the mysteries will be revealed as Tyranny's very first expansion "Bastard's Wound" is just around the corner.
Once it arrives it will allow us to explore an all-new section of the world, mostly focused around an illegal settlement of those that have fled the devastation of the endless war. There will also be new companion quests and storylines involving Verse, Barik, and Lantry, as well as a whole bunch of new features and expanded content for Tyranny's solely lacking third act. Perhaps most importantly of all, there will be a brand new ending that explores what happens to those that remain truly loyal to Kyros!
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Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel are definitely competent singleplayer RPGs, but from my experience they are best played in co-op multiplayer. This way you get all of the same challenge as you would in a singleplayer RPG, but also all of the random and frequently hilarious nonsense that happens when multiple people are utterly convinced they're plan is the only correct one.
While the recently posted co-op spotlight video is a bit over-exaggerated, it should still give you a good idea of just what kind of co-op features you can find in Divinity: Original Sin 2 and what you can do with them. Have a look:
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In what might just be the strangest crossover this year, Square Enix has just announced that Final Fantasy XV will be hosting an Assassin's Festival next week. In other words, it will be an event featuring gameplay elements from the Assassin's Creed series (including radio towers, hay bales, and hidden blades) and a whole bunch of new cosmetic items to toy around with.
If you're wondering what all of this madness might look like in-game, wonder no more as the developers have recently posted a brief gameplay trailer showcasing the new features. Have a look, its quite... something: