Ah yes, 2016 is here. We've finally gotten to the point in our planet's history where the current year almost sounds fictitious. Bad quips about how the number of years that have passed aside, 2016 is set to be a downright fascinating 366 days when it comes to video games (that's right, it's a leap year - here's to hoping you found this out from a gaming article). If there's one thing that there isn't enough of on the Internet every year, it's articles hoping for certain aspects of a new year to be wonderful. In honor of this, we're bringing you three wonderful wishes for each major gaming entity (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and PC) over the next four days that, if true, might just make 2016 the best year for gaming yet. While the Xbox One is very much in second place, Microsoft's heavy consumer focus over the past year definitely has put the Xbox One in prime position to be a downright awesome console.
The relative lack of gameplay shown compared to ways players can interact in basic ways was intentional, however. Rare would later state that the game is still mid-development on many gameplay systems, but that the team is so excited to show the game that everyone wants to show what's reasonable. For example the island adventuring, the customization features, and most important perhaps -- the loot, are still in-development systems. Those features will be shown as soon as they're ready, as Rare intends to be as transparent as can be going forw
One caveat should be considered with this data dive. The assets pulled are not officially announced, and could, therefore, be cut content or take on a much different role in the final game, especially when a beta is usually never the same version of the game that's released when a game is launc
There are definitely some major questions about Sea of Thieves, especially when you consider that Rare is not a studio that has ever put together an online game that feels truly cutting edge, but if everything hits, Microsoft's investment in this legendary studio could be totally worth it. The real goal here should be to find a way to make a charming, deep online version of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag , considering that may be the best pirate game we've ever received.
Unlike past year's E3 events, this year's had a particular air of familiarity. Going into the even most gamers had a pretty good handle on what should be announced, and by and large the major publishers stuck to their scripts. There were some surprises, like the official reveal of the Xbox One Scorpio , but mostly it was the known quantities that impres
According to Rare, the studio wants to offer a balanced experience that's equal in almost every facet. In practice, that means a game with full feature parity, but more than that it means an equal playing field from day one. So Rare also says they're planning on launching Sea of Thieves day and date on both console and PC, with launch still on track for early 2
Perhaps a tutorial or two beforehand, randomly placed as you are amid one of the trading outposts upon booting up a new session. "SEAOFTHIEVESANDHERE’SANISLAND, GO!!" Ummmm…errrr, wait-what? Yes, it’s that sudden and without a map or instructor or any sort of indicator beforehand, the perplexing nature and seemingly deserted simplicity of your surroundings can feel as much like miscommunication as it can misunderstanding. There could very well be some manner of narrative or cinematic oversight with which the beta hasn't provided, but it goes without saying that Sea of Thieves almost expects too much for its starting players to simply just accept and tolerate.
Is this a game of substance or a game of potential -- clambering to the hope that players will "just make their own fun?" Yes, there’s a little silliness and due reactionary disbelief as you watch your virtual Ship Construction sink beneath the ocean as a swell of string arrangement signal open water once more being the most terrifying concept in existence (especially at night), but these are unintended accidents outside the supposed "bulk" of the game’s content. When you seemingly have more engagement in the surprisingly-detailed ocean physics — rather than the focal content on show — well then that’s a problem. And in Microsoft’s/Xbox’s case, a big problem.
As expected, Sea of Thieves is an online multiplayer game in which players will cooperatively and competitively partake in traditional pirate activities. Those include running a ship by weighing anchor, unfurling sails, and laying down cannon fire on other ships, and island life -- though that was left merely teased. Oh, and don't forget drinking ale. There's plenty of ale to be drunk as well. Mostly though, there was a lot of sea battles with other pirate sh
But perhaps it's this deliberate restriction that lends itself to some interesting interactions between players and novel use of player skills as a means at working better together. While the skill at merely turning a map around to show others sounds ridiculously basic, it’s a clever move in context. A means to build bridges between similarly-plucked team-mates and better incentivises Sea of Thieves’ core, principle lesson in working together. Granted the perk is proven moot when, upon agreeing on a particular voyage, you simply get handed the same maps in your inventory, but the physicality of such interactivity in-game is welcome regardless. When it comes to your ship, though, all hands are most certainly on deck. There are sails to align and angle; potential hazards to flag and shout out to the player steering the ship (whom, if the sails are set at full length can’t see where they’re steering, again a nice nudging toward better relationships)…and if worse comes to worse, leaks to repair should you collide. Or even worse, cries of "FRAME-RATE!" -- as I had to do when a teammate is barking compass directions but I have no means to control the stuttering performance -- when the game (on PC) decides to nose-dive from relatively stable 60FPS to, at its worst, the high-teens -- the most notable drops occurring mostly at sea, relatively afar from shore.