'Titanfall 2' beta test leads to sweeping gameplay changes ahead of its release

By Danny Cowan August 24, 2016

titanfall 2 beta test leads to sweeping gameplay changes titanfall2tweaks — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Developer Respawn Entertainment is overhauling its competitive first-person shooter sequel Titanfall 2 after a recent beta test met with a mixed reception from experienced players.

Respawn outlined its plans to tweak Titanfall 2‘s core gameplay mechanics in response to player feedback, noting that future builds will feature faster character movement, improved Titan survivability, and more varied map designs, among other requested changes.

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The upcoming Titanfall 2 follows up on 2014’s Titanfall, a competitive first-person shooter designed by veterans of Call of Duty series developer Infinity Ward. The original Titanfall lacked a single-player component, placing its emphasis entirely on multiplayer matches in which players fight for control of towering mech-like Titans.

Respawn Entertainment previously announced that it would add a single-player story mode to the upcoming Titanfall 2 in response to player requests. The sequel will also mark the end of Titanfall‘s Xbox console exclusivity, and the finished product will be available for the PlayStation 4 in addition to the Xbox One and Windows PCs.

Many series fans were disappointed after participating in a recent weekend-long beta test for Titanfall 2, with many reporting a noticeable drop in character movement speed compared to the original Titanfall. Respawn notes that character sluggishness is an unintended side effect of the team’s efforts to make close-quarters combat less chaotic.

“Changes to pilot mobility stemmed from a desire to improve our gunplay, and not a desire to slow down movement,” Respawn explains. “We’ll be tuning air speed and wall-running speed to be faster, [and] players should once again accumulate and retain more speed when chaining wall runs.”

Players will also be given more frequent access to Titans in future builds, and Titans will take less damage from enemy firepower. Other planned changes include a faster recharge period for Titan dashing, a tweaked head-up display, and increased variety in map designs, including “more traditional Titanfall maps.”

Future updates to Titanfall 2‘s gameplay will be detailed on the game’s official forums. Titanfall 2 launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PCs on October 28.

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Saints Row reboot still looks wacky, even if it’s formulaic

The main character of Saints Row glides in a wingsuit.

The Saints Row series is making its grand return after seven years. The Saints Row universe fully reset at the end of the Saints Row IV DLC Gat Out of Hell, so Volition's next game is a full-on reboot of the series. After the underwhelming Agents of Mayhem, this reboot allowed the developer to redefine what a Saints Row game could be without the constraints of classic characters or settings. Unfortunately, that new vision is much more plain than I'd hoped despite the series' expected madcap tone.
While the results of this reimagining have the enjoyable and wacky Saints Row flair that one would expect, I was left quite underwhelmed by a recent hands-off preview of several missions, combat, and the open world in Saints Row. This upcoming game is set in a new Southwestern city of Santo Ileso and features a new cast of Saints characters, so Volition has an opportunity to go big and bold here. Ultimately, it's looking formulaic for a series that's known for being off-kilter and wildly creative.
SAINTS ROW – Game Awards Gameplay Trailer
Grounded absurdism
During my hands-off preview, I got to see the new team of Saints in a variety of missions. These include a loan agency robbery gone wrong that results in a big car chase, a raid of a car-loving Panteros gang's headquarters in a helicopter, and a rescue mission for one of the player-character's friends after he's kidnapped by a bunch of Deadmau5-looking crooks from a gang called the Idols.
The new cast of Saints seems likable enough, but the "angry but endearingly funny millennial" tone of each character's writing has yet to be nearly as endearing as classic Saints Row characters like Johnny Gat or Kinzie Kensington. The "try-hard lulz" writing that the series was known for isn't as funny now as it was in 2015 when the last Saints Row game was released. It's hard to tell from this early look if Volition's writers will succumb to the same unfunny writing problems that plagued 2019's Borderlands 3.

Also, because it's an entirely new cast of characters that have yet to prove themselves to fans, there isn't any nostalgia factor that can help make up for subpar jokes. Currently, Volition's strategy is to give the narrative a sense of "groundedness" despite its kooky aspects to make players care about this character and that narrative.
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Absurdly generic
While each mission that I described earlier does have the Saints Row series' trademark quirk, they aren't exactly pushing the boundaries of what to expect from a third-person, open-world game so far. While I only saw a few side missions, like one where players had to ride shotgun and fend off cops for a jewelry thief, our look at the map and missions suggest that Saints Row may be a fairly boilerplate open-world game.

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Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates walk through a forest in One Piece Odyssey.

During a special One Piece livestream, Bandai Namco Entertainment announced One Piece Odyssey, an expansive JRPG based on the long-running anime that will launch later this year.
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One Piece Odyssey - Announcement Trailer
While we know that One Piece Odyssey will be a JRPG with quests, dungeons, and turn-based combat. A developer interview video shows some footage of Luffy exploring One Piece Odyssey's world and solving an environmental puzzle in a dungeon.
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A message from Oda also appears at the start of the announcement trailer, and he certainly seems quite excited about the project. "I thought to myself, wasn't it like three years ago when I designed the characters?!" he said, revealing how long One Piece Odyssey has been in development. "But when I actually saw the game ... wow! It felt like I was watching a movie! What incredible immersion."
One Piece Odyssey will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S later in 2022.

Gaming

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A wizard wearing the sorting hat.

After over a year of silence surrounding a new RPG set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Avalanche Software and WB Games finally revealed more about Hogwarts Legacy in a State of Play presentation. Most importantly, we learned that the game would finally be released this holiday season, though the game doesn't have an exact date yet.
Hogwarts Legacy | State of Play | March 17, 2022 [ENGLISH]
Players control a fully customizable character who's coming to Hogwarts for the first time as a fifth-year student in the late 1800s. After getting assigned to a house, players will have to attend various classes and explore the giant campus that is Hogwarts. They will then have to use the skills they learned to explore the wider Wizarding World and work with Professor Figg to deal with a Goblin rebellion and uncover the mysteries of ancient magic.
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For those still planning to pick the game up, it's clear that Avalanche went all out in making the most thorough and detailed Harry Potter game ever. And while Hogwarts Legacy got its own Sony State of Play stream, it isn't a PlayStation exclusive. Harry Potter fans can expect the game to launch on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S sometime during the holiday 2022 season.