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Anthem Was Forced Out After Only 15 Months In Development

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Anthem

In 2019, BioWare released Anthem, a game poised to be another stellar sci-fi game under the studio’s belt. Well, it didn’t go according to plan and received middling reception and poor customer reviews. Turns out, it may have something to do with its short development time.

Ian Saterdalen took to Twitter to reveal that most developers behind the game knew it wasn’t ready, but the higher-ups wanted it out the door, even if that meant releasing an unfinished game after only 15 months of development time. Supposedly, they were subjected to 90-hour work weeks, and that led to at least Saterdalen needing therapy afterwards.

Even so, if it was properly worked on with reasonable deadlines and its scope in check, it could’ve been a great game, and he feels like it was a mistake shelving Anthem before its NEXT update was released. He does encourage people to spread positivity and not bring hate, something we can get behind — shouting at BioWare and EA will not make either company change its mind.

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Anthem To Be Improved In Coming Months

Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger 0 Comments
Anthem

When it comes down to it, not many games have fallen so far from grace as Anthem has. Starting off on the wrong foot is one thing, but it didn’t take long for people to realize there are fundamental issues with the game. Now that many of its devs are gone, the future wasn’t looking too good. BioWare, though, doesn’t want to see it go. In a blog post Monday, BioWare’s general manager revealed it’s still kicking and raring to be revamped in the coming months.

The post detailed how they were both excited and nervous to release the open-world, multiplayer science-fiction title. It was all new territory to them. Supposedly, they’ve been working hard on general stability and quality over the past year and will continue to do so for a while longer. That said, they are also going to be focusing on revamping gameplay to add clear goals, progression, and “meaningful” rewards.

While the new version is being worked on, the current one will remain playable and you’ll just have to wait patiently. Anthem’s one year anniversary is later this month and will mark them revisiting seasonal and cataclysm content.

What went wrong with Anthem?

Anthem got off on the wrong foot with fans. With it being an online multiplayer game, there were bound to be glitches, but it was far worse than some graphical glitch. Some reported the inability to continue the game from a suspended state on Xbox One. This meant people had to turn off the game and turn it back on. Meanwhile, others reported their console was bricked because of it.

Mass Effect: Andromeda didn’t do it any favors either. While not directly tied to the game, the sour taste left in the mouths of fans certainly caused some to dislike the title. Also, it’s published by EA. A developer that is both loved and absolutely hated. Especially as it was released in the era in which they value adding loot boxes and other microtransactions into full-priced games.

Anthem launched February last year.

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Anthem Open Demo Available Now

Christopher D. Anderson 0 Comments
Anthem

Starting today and through this weekend you can see if Anthem is up to all the fuss. Anthem is Bioware’s newest project and has you step inside an exosuit called a Javelin, which isn’t all that different from an Iron Man suit. The game is a third person shooter with a focus on multi-player. There will be four Javelins to control at release, each with unique abilites. You’ll be tasked with contracts, exploration, and in world events.

The demo will give you a small taste of what to expect from the full game. Just remember, it’s only for this weekend and you’ll need a PS Plus subscription if you don’t already have one. Here’s what you can expect from the demo.

  • The demo takes place a little further into the game and gives you access to two missions.
  • You’ll be able to explore a portion of the map.
  • You can join an event in the game called The Stronghold which is a more difficult challenge and requires four players together.
  • With the exception of The Stronghold, you can enjoy the whole demo either solo or with other players.
  • You start out at level 10 and can reach level 15. Once you reach level 12 you can unlock a different Javelin.
  • Your progress will not carry over into the full game.

The full game comes out February 22nd. Might be a good time to check it out.

Have you played the demo? Come back and tell us what you think.

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E3 2018 EA Play Press Conference Round-Up

Richard Christie 4 Comments

It’s that time of the year again , E3 2018 is upon us and EA Play kicks off the first of the big showcases.

To start the show off, EA brought out the big guns and gave us a look at Battlefield V set during World War 2. The game will feature a single player campaign and there will be no loot boxes or premium passes this time around.

For the multiplayer, full environmental destruction is back; players can smash through glass windows, buildings will crumble from being hit with artillery or run into by vehicles.

The biggest, but maybe not the most surprising announcement, is that Battlefield V will have a Royale mode.

 

 

Next up for football/soccer fans, EA introduced us to FIFA 19 and that the UEFA Champions League it’s going to feature. Also, for owners of FIFA 18, with the World Cup about to start in a few days time, EA has rolled out a free World Cup update available right now. For a limited time, players that don’t already own the game will be able to download the whole game for free and try it out.

 

 

We then get an update to the future of Battlefront 2. A new ‘Hunt mode’ will be introduced. It was inspired by the first Battlefront games and starts with the Ewoks on Endor. New but familiar characters will make an appearance for the first time and there will be new planets introduced into the game.

 

 

One of the biggest surprises of the show was the unveiling of Unravel Two. We’ll be playing two characters this time that both share the same piece of string. The game can be played in co-op with each player controlling a character each or in single player where we’ll have the ability to switch between them as we traverse the levels. But the big reveal was that not only is the game finished in development but it’s available to buy and play right now.

 

 

We were then introduced to an EA Originals supported studio called Jo-Mei and their beautiful looking game called Sea of Solitude. This game takes an interesting look at human emotion and loneliness.

 

 

We then got trailers for NBA 19 available September 7th and for Madden 19 available August 7th.

 

 

 

Bringing the show to a close, the highly anticipated new IP from Bioware, Anthem, brought the goods. The game will not feature loot boxes but there will be cosmetic items that can be purchased. The campaign can be played solo though it’s encouraged that players team up with friends. We also got a release date of February 22nd 2019.

 

 

And finally, although we didn’t get any footage of the game, CEO of Respawn Entertainment Vince Zampella, gave us some information on his teams new Star Wars game called Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. The game takes place during the ‘dark times’ between episodes III and IV of the movies and we can expect it during the holidays 2019.

What did you think of the EA showcase? Awesome? Boring? What games are you forward to?

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