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18 CommentsNo more skirmishes for Star Wars Battlefront as development pivots to a sequel
Star Wars Battlefront is done updating its Skirmish offline mode, sending a larger signal that EA DICE is moving away from the 2015 shooter and focusing its efforts on the sequel coming later this year.
Skirmish, which was added to the game over the summer, allowed users to play the Walker Assault and Fighter Squadron battles by themselves or with a partner in local split-screen multiplayer, with the remainder of the fighters controlled by AI. Previously these games were available only in online multiplayer.
Skirmish was a partial response to the community's lingering disappointment that Battlefront either had no campaign or no solo option comparable to the Instant Action of its namesakes. Battlefront was criticized, almost from its launch in November 2015, for having no campaign or...
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2 CommentsNBA Live pushed back to fall 2017, new UFC game on the way
The next NBA Live game will be released in 2017, but not until this fall, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson announced today.
Wilson made an almost offhand mention of the game while discussing the upcoming EA Sports lineup during the investor call for the third quarter of EA’s 2017 fiscal year. Until today, EA’s earnings reports had included an NBA Live console game slated for the fourth fiscal quarter, which runs from January to March.
Earlier this month, a listing for a game called The Drive to NBA Live was spotted on the Korean ratings board. It now appears that EA has effectively canceled that title and pushed back the next NBA Live to the fall, where the publisher would be more likely to release a game under the title of NBA Live 18. The series faces tough competition in 2K Sports’...
Cover Story
Issue
25
January 9, 2017
Final Fantasy 7: An oral history
30,000 words! 35 interviews! 4 videos! A trivia minigame! We take an in-depth look back at Square’s breakthrough role-playing game.
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3 CommentsGrand Theft Auto Online character transfers end in March
If, for some reason, you still have and still are playing a character on Grand Theft Auto Online on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, you have a little more than one month to transfer that progress to the current console generation.
Rockstar Games announced the March 6 deadline along with its latest promotions and special events within GTA Online. Progress transfer — within a console family only — began after Grand Theft Auto 5 launched on the current console generation in 2014.
Updates and support for Grand Theft Auto Online on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ended in 2015.
Those playing on the current generation can enjoy some steep discounts on in-game gear and bonus XP events from Feb. 1 to Feb. 13 in a variety of GTA Online game modes. Rockstar Newswire has more details.
Resident Evil 7 guide
0 CommentsResident Evil 7 guide and walkthrough
In Polygon's Resident Evil 7 guide and walkthrough, we'll show you where to go, how to defeat your enemies and where to find the weapons, keys, collectibles — antique coins, files and Mr. Everywhere statues — you're looking for.
How to use this Resident Evil 7 guide
Resident Evil 7 is both a departure from and a return to form for Capcom's long-running survival horror franchise. Though it unfurls in a single, long campaign without any named levels, Resident Evil 7 does have landmarks that seem an awful lot like levels. We've organized our Resident Evil 7 walkthrough based on these geographical locations that divide the game into sections.
Follow our Resident Evil 7 guide, you'll find the path from the first moments to the final boss battle, with...
News
7 CommentsFinal Fantasy 15’s first DLC episode launches in March
“Episode Gladiolus,” the first premium downloadable content for Final Fantasy 15, will launch on March 28. Square Enix revealed the release date during a presentation about the franchise, held in Japan this week in celebration of Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary.
The DLC will let players take a turn as another member of Prince Noctis’ party, as Square Enix described last fall. Gladiolus, our personal favorite of Noctis’ traveling band of sidekicks, will take center stage in a series of battles. Other characters set to appear include Gilgamesh, a popular recurring character who debuted in Final Fantasy 5. This marks his first showing in Final Fantasy 15, however.
Premium Edition owners and season pass holders will get immediate access to “Episode Gladiolus” and all future downloadable...
News
23 CommentsFinal Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age gets a launch date
Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age, a remaster of 2006's Final Fantasy 12, will launch on PlayStation 4 on July 11.
Square Enix announced the launch at a 30th anniversary event for the Final Fantasy franchise today.
Per its name, the remaster will include the International Zodiac Job system that was part of the Japan-only update for the PlayStation 2 game. The job system allows a user to assign a role to a character, which provides them with unique skills and stat growth opportunities.
In a preview last summer, producer Hiroaki Kato noted that under the original character progression system in Final Fantasy 12, all the characters would "basically become supermen" by the end of the game. But the International Zodiac Job system provides greater variety and customization in a player's...
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8 CommentsPlay Rainbow Six Siege for free this weekend
Ubisoft is holding a free weekend for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege between Thursday, Feb. 2 and Sunday, Feb. 5, the publisher announced today.
Players on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One will be able to take part in the free weekend. Ubisoft says the free trial will offer “access to all of the maps, modes, and Operators present in the full version, giving you the full Siege experience over the free weekend.” PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will be required to play the game on consoles.
More details on specific timing for Rainbow Six Siege’s free weekend are available at the Ubisoft blog.
The game's free weekend will lead into the release of Operation Velvet Shell, Rainbow Six Siege's first major content update. Velvet Shell kicks off Feb. 7 and will include a...
News
6 CommentsResident Evil 7 speedrunners can finish the game in 90 minutes
For sensitive or easily scared players, the horrifying Resident Evil 7 biohazard may be tough to stomach for even its first hour. Speedrunners are proving that they don’t need to play for much more than that to finish the game, however, with the latest record holder beating the whole campaign in just about 90 minutes.
Above, Twitch streamer uhTrance races through the New Game Plus mode in what he calls record time: one hour, 34 minutes. The Any% run — that is, a speedrun where players just have to finish the game by any means necessary — lasts about as along as a horror film, and it doesn’t compromise the scares. Instead, it just compresses the 10-hour campaign into a much shorter timeframe, with the use of shortcuts and expert knowledge of Resident Evil 7.
That’s because uhTrance has...
News
44 CommentsOverwatch’s Bastion is finally getting some much-needed buffs
One of Overwatch’s most contentious and easily misunderstood heroes, Bastion, is in the process of getting an overhaul, Blizzard confirmed on the game’s forums today. Overwatch game designer Geoff Goodman addressed player concerns about Bastion’s viability and outlined how Blizzard is buffing the ‘bot.
Goodman responded to player “Rarithlynx” — who has spent more than 90 hours of his Overwatch career playing as Bastion — who posted that the hero was long overdue for a buff.
“Bastion is currently in a pretty bad spot,” Rarithlynx wrote earlier this month. “He has the most counters out of all heroes in the game, including quite a bit of hard counters. He's big and immobile, and has no defensive or escape abilities, and requires the team to babysit him all the time.”
While many other...
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5 CommentsPsychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin hits PlayStation VR next month
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the virtual reality puzzle game from Double Fine Productions, will be released Feb. 21 exclusively on PlayStation VR, the studio announced today.
Rhombus of Ruin is a stand-alone game that bridges the gap between the original Psychonauts, which was released in 2005, and the upcoming Psychonauts 2.
The puzzle game stars Razputin “Raz” Aquato, the protagonist of the first game, and players will solve puzzles with his psychic powers from a first-person perspective. Abilities include clairvoyance, telekinesis and pyrokinesis. Rhombus of Ruin’s story continues from where that of Psychonauts left off. In case you were wondering, the title of the game refers to a region of the ocean that’s “as deadly as two Bermuda Triangles back to back,” according to...
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2 CommentsCall of Duty’s latest trailer shows off Infinite Warfare’s four new maps
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's first premium DLC, Sabotage, arrives tomorrow for PlayStation 4. Infinity Ward shows off the four new multiplayer maps included with it in this trailer, released today.
The four maps are Noir, Renaissance, Neon and Dominion. Noir is set in a futuristic Brooklyn at night; Neon is a "z-shaped digital city"; Renaissance is set among the canals of Venice, and Dominion is a reimagining of Afghan, the fan-favorite map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Sabotage will also deliver new Zombies content, called "Rave in the Redwoods," with special guest star Kevin Smith and his hockey sweater. Sabotage is included in the $49.99 season pass of DLC, which promises four map packs over the coming year and some other in-game swag. It’s a timed exclusive on PlayStation...
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17 CommentsFallout 4’s next patch beefs up visuals on PS4 Pro, PC
Fallout 4's next patch will add PlayStation 4 Pro support and PC users will get a beefy high-resolution texture pack that significantly ramps up the game's visuals.
Update 1.9 on PlayStation 4 will roll out next week, and for PS4 Pro users, it will add native 1440p resolution, enhanced Godray effects (those shafts of light coming through clouds or trees) and enhanced draw distance for trees, grass, objects and, perhaps helpfully, NPCs.
The high resolution texture pack takes up another 58 GB of hard drive space and carries its own set of recommended specifications. "If your system can handle it, the Commonwealth will look better than ever," Bethesda Softworks said in a blog post. "Give it a shot and if you need to return to the original textures, you can disable them within the game’s...
News
7 CommentsR.B.I. Baseball returns for a fourth edition on Xbox One
R.B.I. Baseball, the only baseball game licensed by Major League Baseball on the Xbox One, is back for a fourth season. National League Rookie of the Year Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers was declared the cover star, though it isn't clear if the game will have a physical disc launch.
R.B.I. Baseball 17 will feature all 30 MLB clubs and the full membership of the Major League Baseball Players Association, performing in 30 distinct representations of MLB ballparks. The game will be available for $19.99 on consoles and $4.99 on mobile devices.
R.B.I. Baseball will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS and Android. A list of launch dates will be provided later. Opening Day is Sunday, April 2 and MLB The Show 17 launches March 28 on PlayStation 4.
R.B.I. Baseball, originally...
News
44 CommentsVideo game releases for February 2017
Here are some of the big video game releases for the month of February 2017. Be sure to check out the list we put together of our most anticipated games of 2017 and subscribe to Polygon's YouTube channel for tons of gaming videos. Also, here are the free games you get with your Xbox Live Gold subscription this month. Additionally, here's what is coming to your favorite video streaming services and here's what is leaving in February.
What are you looking forward to playing? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of releases and only games with specific dates are listed below. Some games are announced for February but have no firm release date.
Feb. 2:
Fire Emblem Heroes (Android and iOS) — In Fire Emblem's first...
News
0 CommentsQuakeCon dates announced
QuakeCon 2017 is will be Aug. 24-27 in Grapevine, Texas at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. Zenimax Media announced the dates for the 22nd edition of fan gathering yesterday.
The event will be free and is open to the public, as usual. More than 10,000 gamers attended QuakeCon 2016 and took part in the LAN party that has made it famous. Other events include panels, gaming tournaments, workshops and exhibits showcasing new hardware and gaming accessories.
Frequently referred to as video gaming's Woodstock, QuakeCon has had ties to the Dallas area since it was first held in 1996. It is well known for the large "BYOC" room where attendees bring their PC rigs and show them off. It has been held at the Gaylord Texan Resort three times before, 2004, 2005 and 2009.
QuakeCon...
News
20 CommentsTitanfall 2’s free DLC continues with new Live Fire mode, another map remake
Respawn Entertainment will continue its flow of free content for Titanfall 2 with a new gameplay mode called Live Fire coming in February and the return of a Titanfall multiplayer map in March, the developer confirmed today.
Griffin Dean, the designer behind the new mode, described Titanfall 2’s Live Fire as a “fast-paced round-based 6v6 pilot only elimination mode.” Each round lasts only 60 seconds, and the team holding a flag at the end of each round will emerge the victor.
“Live Fire was inspired by speedball matches in paintball,” Dean explained. “We wanted to capture the spirit of these lightning-fast competitive matches and give it a Titanfall twist. Live Fire, like speedball, is fundamentally about forward momentum. You have to advance against the enemy, attack aggressively...
News
3 CommentsOverwatch now has 25 million players
Overwatch now has more than 25 million players, Blizzard Entertainment announced on Twitter. That’s up five million from October, when the publisher celebrated the game having 20 million players.
In the time it took Overwatch to gain 25 million players, the game saw a deluge of updates, achievements and new content. Among the highlights from the last few months of Overwatch:
Long-awaited hacker hero Sombra finally arrived in November, as part of BlizzCon 2016;
A pair of seasonal events, most recently a Chinese New Year-themed campaign, introduced some controversial and buggy new skins to the game;
The game’s first LGBT hero was named;
Dedicated fans launched a progressive movement, using an Overwatch character as their feminist mascot.
Overwatch also received numerous year-end...
Video
8 CommentsWatch Ken Griffey Jr. mo-cap his swing for MLB The Show 17
Ken Griffey Jr. may have retired seven years ago, but he’s the star of MLB The Show 17. And when it comes to his legendary swing, he’s still got it.
Watch the new MLB 17 trailer above to see the smooth stroke that sent 630 baseballs screaming over fences in big-league ballparks — good for sixth on the sport’s all-time list. Griffey appears to have put on a few pounds since his playing days, but that sweet swing remains as recognizable as ever. And hey, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who played pro baseball for 22 seasons is entitled to a comfortable retirement.
The trailer also contains footage of Griffey recording voice-overs for MLB 17. Some of them sound like things an umpire would say, like an exaggerated strike call, while others resemble broadcast commentary. There’s no word yet on...
News
36 CommentsNi No Kuni 2 is looking just as sweet as the original
First, some good news for PC owners. Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is coming to Windows PC as well as PlayStation 4 when it's released later this year. All platform versions will be launched simultaneously around the world.
Publisher Bandai Namco made the announcement at a press event in San Francisco yesterday, where a short gameplay section was shown.
Here's what we learned. First, the sequel to 2013's sublime Ni No Kuni has a slightly different look this time. The first game was also heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli, which also provided fantastic cut-scene animations. The sequel's overworld is less cartoonish and more realistic than its predecessor, though still with a heavy fantasy element.
Level-5
Party-based combat
Characters and Plot
When the game...
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10 CommentsRallycross racer Dirt 4 coming this summer
Deep Silver this morning announced that driving game Dirt 4 will be released on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One on June 6.
Developed by U.K. house Codemasters, it’s the latest in a series of off-road racing games stretching back to 1999. The Dirt series was previously marketed with the license of the late Colin McRae. There have also been spin-offs in the last few years, including 2016’s well-regarded Dirt Rally, but this is the first game in the core series since Dirt 3 in 2010.
The new game features off-road vehicles including the Ford Fiesta R5, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, Subaru WRX STI NR4 and Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2. With the official license of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Dirt 4’s tracks include Montalegre, Lohéac Bretagne, Hell, Holjes and Lydden Hill.
A...
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