Top 10 Best Locations to Drop in Apex Legends

As of right now, Apex Legends only has one map, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to learn. King’s Canyon is filled with unique nooks and crannies and its sheer size and verticality will leave a lot of new players scratching their heads and wondering exactly where to start. Luckily for you, I’ve compiled an easy to read list of the top 10 landing locations currently in King’s Canyon.

1.    Artillery

Artillery has a lot going for it. It has high-tier loot, it’s fairly close to solid secondary locations like Cascades and Bunker, but above all, Artillery is just plain fun. While most other locations in Apex Legends are either small and compact or large and open, Artillery manages to do both, making it a location that’s both well stocked and fun for every playstyle. Players comfortable with close-range combat can drop into one of Artillery’s two warehouses or head north though a set of sliding doors to loot an indoor bunker. Those with more long-range playstyles can camp on a warehouse an pick off enemies with one of the game’s many sniper rifles. The choice is yours.

2.    Bunker

Bunker is one of my favourite locations on the map and easily deserves the second spot on this list. The location revolves around a central military bunker that tunnels directly through one of the map’s many cliffs, and its short and crowded corridors make it insanely easy to defend against incoming teams. While Bunker is definitely a very popular early game hotspot, its high tier loot is just too hard to pass up, especially considering how fast and easy it is to loot. After landing and equipping a solid loadout, teams can head west to a group of unnamed buildings or move northeast to cascades.

3.    Repulsor

Repulsor is a location that’s eerily similar to Artillery, populated with a few of its very own bunker-like warehouses. The area is home to an underground tunnel that lets players traverse the entire location without seeing daylight. Repulsor is another high-tier area, and what makes it even better is that Hydro Dam is just a short walk north. The Hydro Dam isn’t exactly a top location, but it’s great to collect some extra ammo, shields or whatever else your team needs to round off their load out in the early game.

4. Swamps

Located on the eastern outskirts of King’s Canyon, the Swamps are genuinely massive, filled to the brim with high-tier loot and grade-A weaponry. Swamps are generally pretty deserted, and despite the area being water logged, a large set of ziplines makes traversal a breeze for the entire squad. Playing with Pathfinder would be particularly useful when dropping here.

5. Airbase

At fifth place is King’s Canyon’s aptly titled Airbase, located on the western edge of the map. Airbase is a fairly isolated location, making it one the harder locations to easily rotate out of after landing. Still, landing on one of the location’s two docked military ships will yield a pretty solid amount of high-tier loot. Players are already pretty fond of the Airbase, so make sure you drop with a well put together squad.

6. Skulltown

Along with Bridges, Skulltown is the only other mid-tier loot location I’ve put on this list, thanks in part to its sheer size. The area is full of solid loot, making it easy to equip your entire 3-man squad with armour and weapons before heading out to Market, located just north-east of Skulltown. Be warned though, Skulltown is a popular location, so you’re going to be sure to meet some resistance after landing.

7. Runoff

Runoff is yet another high-tier loot location, and for good reason. Located on the western side of Kings Canyon, Runoff is a relatively simple location adorned with sewer pipes and waste, all leading into a central ditch that runs down the length of the area. Teams that are quick to loot can run straight from Runoff to Relay, or easily rotate to the middle of the map by making their way to Bunker.

8. The Pit

While the pit certainly has good high-tier loot, it doesn’t exactly have a lot of it. The location is small and probably won’t have enough armour and weapons to stock up your entire team. Your best bet is for one team member to land in the pit and then rendezvous with the rest of your squad at Runoff or Bunker. What’s great about The Pit is that it’s usually relatively quiet, making for easy pickups, albeit not many of them. If it were better stocked, The Pit would surely be a top location.

9. Bridges

Bridges is one of the only mid-tier loot locations on this list, and for good reason. This location is home to quite a few ziplines, making traversal a breeze and giving you easy access to key loot locations. What’s more is that if you’re lucky enough to find a mid to long range weapon on the bridge’s southern cliff, picking off unarmed enemies is a breeze, making the area very easy to defend.

10. Water Treatment

Starting off at 10^th place is King’s Canyon’s water treatment facility, located on the southernmost edge of the map. Water Treatment gives players the chance of getting high tier loot with little to no resistance. Since it’s so far from most other named areas on the map, this location is a great spot for new players or those looking for a fairly slow early round. The only downside from landing at water treatment is that after looting, the odds of finding any other un-looted locations are pretty slim. Your best chance would be to head west after looting and scoping out the handful off unnamed buildings near Thunderdome.

CD Projekt Red Announces New Gwent Expansion Releasing March 28

Set in The Witcher universe, Gwent is an online collectible card game fromdeveloper CD Projekt Red. Players can use some of their favourite characters, creatures and spells from the series across the game’s four factions: Skellige, Scoia’tael, Northern Realms, and Monsters.

Earlier this year, CDPR let fans know that the game’s first ever expansion would be releasing at some point in March, marking the game’s first major update since its release from open beta back in October. Since then, players have been treated to gameplay fixes, tweaks, and a collection of new leaders that have helped flesh out the game’s relatively small card pool.

Today, CDPR has finally officially announced the expansion which they’re calling Crimson Curse. Releasing on March 28, Crimson Curse is going to be themed around Dettlaff van der Eretein, the higher vampire first seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine.

“As the Moon over the Witcher world turns red, new breeds of monsters awake, new villains emerge, and new heroes rise to answer the call,” reads the official press release.

According to the developer, the expansion will be introducing over 100 new cards to the game’s four playable factions: “Players will be able to afflict the enemy with Poison and Bleeding, use Shield and Vitality to defend against incoming damage, as well as attempt to turn the tide of battle using the Deathblow and Berserk gameplay mechanics.”

You can watch a teaser trailer for the expansion below.

Crimson Curse will be playable on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 28th, 2019.

Titanfall’s Revenge: Will Apex Legends Kill Anthem?

Is EA Letting History Repeat Itself?

Apex Legends – Courtesy of EA

It’s no secret that Bioware is long passed its prime. The studio just hasn’t had the same high level of game production as they did in the early to late-2000’s, with releases like KOTOR, Dragon Age: Origins, and the Mass Effect series. The last game that Bioware was able to put out was 2017’s Mass Effect: Andromeda, a game that was universally panned by critics and fans and is still viewed as one of the industry’s biggest failures. It’s clear that the studio really needs a saving grace, and the game they’ve chosen to fulfill that demand is Anthem.

Releasing on February 22^nd, Anthem is an upcoming third person shooter following in the footsteps of Bungie’s Destiny franchise. Similarly to Destiny, the game features futuristic settings and loot based “grindy” progression that rewards players for sinking in as much time as possible into replaying missions. The formula isn’t exactly a new one, but it’s withstood the test of time.

The problem is, we’ve heard this all before.

Back in 2016, Respawn was getting ready to release the second installment of their Titanfall series. The first game was released in 2014 and was well received by both fans and critics, hitting 10 million sales by October of 2015. These numbers aren’t anything to scoff at, but since Titanfall was a series in its infancy, it just couldn’t compete with major releases like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. For reference, Advanced Warfare has reportedly sold around 22 million copies since its release, which are actually relatively low numbers for the franchise (https://www.statista.com/statistics/321374/global-all-time-unit-sales-call-of-duty-games/).

Titanfall 2 – Courtesy of EA

It’s clear that Respawn had a lot to prove with Titanfall 2. Respawn was a studio that was trying to make a name for themselves in a subgenre that was already extremely oversaturated with major players. Sadly, whether Respawn themselves made a huge mistake or their publisher EA didn’t have enough faith in the series, thanks to the game’s poorly planned release schedule, the game was already fighting an uphill battle prior to its release. Titanfall 2 had to once again compete with games like Call of Duty and EA’s own Battlefield, but this time, Titanfall 2 was being released within the same month as the other two series. To add insult to injury, Call of Duty was still experimenting with futuristic gameplay, the same gameplay that was becoming a staple of the Titanfall franchise. Even though Call of Duty’s execution was much sloppier, Titanfall 2 was still utterly enveloped by the other two releases. Due to its poor rollout, the otherwise phenomenal gameplay of Titanfall 2’s story and multiplayer modes were shunned by players, with the game selling a measly 4 million copies by 2017 compared to BF1’s 15 million (https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/31/ea-titanfall-2-didnt-meet-sales-expectations/).

So, what exactly does this have to do with Anthem? Well, the Titanfall 2 situation is starting to look eerily similar to what’s going on with Anthem and Respawn Entertainment’s own Apex Legends. Just like Respawn, Bioware is a company with something to prove and Anthem is yet another potential franchise in its infancy. It seems like EA might be letting history repeat itself, choosing to release Anthem directly after the explosive announcement of Apex Legends.

Apex Legends is already garnering a pretty substantial fanbase, quickly surging to 25 million players in the first week of its release. As of right now, Apex is the most popular game on Twitch, averaging an impressive 255,000 viewers. Comparatively, the previous king of the hill Fortnite is at a substantially lower 140,000 viewers. In time, this gap will most likely close, and Apex’s player and viewer counts will start to even out, but even so, Apex has had an incredibly successful launch. Yet could it have been too successful? Does Anthem even stand a chance at being the mega hit that Bioware needs?

For one, Anthem is already at a pretty huge disadvantage considering its hefty $60 price tag. Comparatively, Apex Legends is free-to-play and even offers progression with players receiving loot boxes and currency periodically, all for the low price of nothing. With Apex already receiving tons of player support, it’ll be hard for Anthem to ask players to shell out $60 for what looks like a run of the mill Destiny clone.

What’s worse is that developer Respawnis already planning to launch brand new content for Apex Legends in March. The update is going to include brand new cosmetics, characters, weapons, and the first iteration of the Apex Legends “Battle Pass”. Competitor Fortnite is already gearing up to try and battle it out with Apex, releasing a patch that lets Fortnite players receive a season 8 Battle Pass for free after completing 13 out of its available 16 challenges. While at first this decision doesn’t seem to make any financial sense, it’s clear that Epic is doing its best to try and tide players over until season 8, and to make sure as few fans switch over to Apex in the meantime. In comparison, Anthem is a game that has been plagued by well documented bugs and glitches ever since its demo and has received lukewarm first impressions on top of that.

What might be the nail in Bioware’s coffin is how exactly Anthem’s advertising was handled. You see, Respawn had already learned from its previous mistakes and came back with a well thought out plan. They knew that their publisher and owner EA wasn’t exactly highly respected in the community, and instead of giving potential players time to bash the Apex press cycle and derail its hype train, Respawn chose to drop it without any prior advertising. Apex Legends executive producer Drew McCoy told Polygon that he knew what a free-to-play Battle Royale looks like to fans, adding that Apex was yet another “free-to-play game with loot boxes,” something that the overall gaming community isn’t exactly fond of. So instead of giving the community time to tear the game apart, Respawn took a massive risk, surprising fans by announcing and releasing the game all in the same day.

Anthem on the other hand chose to rollout it’s new IP the traditional way, announcing the game back in 2014 and building up its lore and gameplay ever since. Anthem was given press coverage, demos, betas, and an extensive and confusing pre-order model that included a handful of ways to play the game across its three systems. The consequences are clear. While more people may now know about the game prior to its release on the 22^nd, not everyone has high expectations for it. Comment sections have already taken to point out a myriad of Anthem’s flaws, dissecting trailers and gameplay tidbits to their hearts content. At this point it seems that everyone has already formed their opinions on Anthem before it’s even been released.

Anthem – Courtesy of EA

The only saving grace that Bioware can count on is the sheer difference between Anthem and Apex. Sure, the two games are both shooters, but they both occupy very different spaces on the market. Anthem might just be able to successfully ride the coattails of Destiny’s success and garner a respectable fanbase.

While Anthem’s release is most definitely eerily similar to 2016’s Titanfall 2, Bioware might still have the chance to release a commercially and critically successful game. Of course, Titanfall 2 is a great example of pure quality not necessarily being enough to sell a game. Even if Anthem manages to revolutionize the gaming industry, Bioware’s new title might already be on its way to a quick and untimely death.

Whether it succeeds or not, Bioware’s Anthem is scheduled for release on February 22^nd for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Why Valve’s “Artifact” Never Stood a Chance

Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/03/09/valves-upcoming-dota-2-card-game-artifact-coming-android-2019/

For hardcore fans and casual gamers alike, the height of Valve’s game production represented a sort of golden age in video games. The studio released a myriad of classics across a slew of different genres. The Half Life series was an excellent story driven FPS, Portal combined a genuinely intriguing story with unparalleled puzzle mechanics and level design, while Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2 helped spawn the class-based shooters and competitive multiplayer games of today such as Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

After their hot streak, Valve settled down game production to instead focus their efforts on the vastly more lucrative Steam platform, the nearly unrivaled video game distribution giant. However, in August of 2018, Valve announced Artifact, an expansion of the Dota universe in the form of a multiplayer… card game. Valve’s Artifact teaser was released to less than positive reception. In the now viral Youtube video, the crowd at the International Dota 2 Championships can be heard belting out loud groans and very audible “boos” in response to the trailer.

See, there’s nothing wrong with card games. In fact, digital card games are really picking up steam in the industry, with titans like Blizzard’s Hearthstone and newcomers like Magic the Gathering: Arena and CDPR’s Gwent attracting respectable communities. However, that’s sort of the problem. After nearly 6 years without any major releases, Valve fans have grown restless, and the company now relies on Steam rather than spending resources on game production. In a crowded market, how can a game like Artifact survive? Well, the answer is not very well.

On launch, according to steam charts, Artifact had around 60,000 concurrent players on. Today, the game barely musters 2,000. In fact, Artifact now sits at 168 on the steam charts- a full 26 spots below Valve’s own Portal 2 released in 2011. But why? It doesn’t seem feasible that a major Valve game could be so atrocious.

In reality, the gameplay has received fairly positive reception, with fans citing the tactical and complicated nature of the game as being major selling points. However, for most of the population, Artifact is simply inaccessible. For one, Artifact isn’t free to play like so many of its contemporaries. The base game itself sports a pretty hefty $20 price tag. For your money, you get a few starter decks along with some boosters, however, to gain access to more cards, players can either drop an extra $2 per booster pack or pay to attempt to win cards in the game’s “Expert” game mode. In the mode, players attempt to achieve as many wins as possible without suffering a max of two losses. After three games one, players receive a ticket which grants them access to another round of the “Expert” game mode. Only after hitting 4 wins to players receive any booster packs. Fans have bombed Artifact for the frankly unfair and disrespectful price tags assigned to the game’s digital card collection.

So, is Artifact dead? Well not entirely… but basically. On December 20^th, Valve updated the game and gave players a way of getting free cards through a progression system, but by then it was too late. The game had already lost over 95% of it’s player base, and free-to-play competitors like Hearthstone and Gwent have already saturated the market with affordable and more accessible alternatives for players hungry for digital card games.

It turns out Valve’s Artifact never really stood a chance.

THE GUNS OF APEX LEGENDS’ RANKED FROM WORST TO BEST

Coming in Guns Blazing

Now that Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends has been out for over a week, fans

have started to decide exactly which guns best suit their individual playstyles. Apex has a wide array of weapons, all with different strengths and weaknesses. To make it easier for players to pick the best gun in , we’ve curated a list ranking every single weapon from Apex from worst to best.

E Class

Mozambique – Apex Legends

Don’t even bother with these weapons unless you’re unarmed and someone’s running straight at you.

• Mozambique: If I had the choice between the Mozambique and a Nerf gun, I would choose the Nerf gun every time. The Mozambique offers up the worst parts of both shotguns and pistols. It has an extremely short range and damage output that just can’t compete with the other weapons in the game.

D Class

P2020 – Apex Legends

While these guns aren’t totally trash, they’re really only useful as soon as you land.

• RE-45: A fully automatic handgun that sports the largest magazine out of all the other pistols. It has decent enough DPS, but its recoil is extremely hard to control, making it a bit of a loose cannon.
• P2020: Your standard handgun, for better and for worse. Not as bad as the Mozambique, but still only useful in early game.

C Class

Alternator – Apex Legends

Depending on he player, these guns can still be used effectively, although aren’t nearly as reliable as guns higher up in the list.

• R-99: The R-99 is the second-best SMG in the game behind the Prowler. Still, due to its low mag size its hard to recommend, even if its high fire rate makes it a decent weapon at close ranges.
• EVA-8 Auto: While the EVA-8 can’t compete with the Peacekeeper or Mastiff, its fast rate of fire makes it a lot easier to use than its contemporaries.

• Devotion: The Devotion is a decent energy LMG as long as you have the time to let the gun warm-up. If you’re able to find the gun’s hop up, this warm up period is reduced significantly, easily making it an A or B Class weapon.
• Alternator: The alternator has a lower fire rate compared to the other SMG’s in the game and has a pretty low DPS too. Most of the time it isn’t worth picking up.

B Class

Hemlock – Apex Legends

Just because these weapons aren’t top tier, that doesn’t mean they’re useless. Most of the guns in B Blass are simply just too limited to be used reliably. At this point, it mostly comes down to preference and what you’re comfortable with, because a lot of these guns could easily be considered A Class depending on the player.

• Spitfire: The spitfire is the best LMG in the game. The weapon has a solid DPS of 170.67 but isn’t as accurate as assault rifles like the R-301 or Flatline. However, once you get used to the gun’s spray and recoil, the Spitfire might just become your favourite gun in the game.
• Flatline: While it can’t rival the accuracy of the R-301, the Flatline still has a lot to offer. The weapon’s DPS clocks in at 160 and has the largest clip size of any assault rifle, although not by much. Still, the Flatline is useful in a lot of situations, whether you’re fighting close quarters or mid-range.
• Prowler: For a lot of players, the Prowler is a hard gun to get behind. It’s an SMG that fires heavy rounds in a 5 shot burst, putting it in a bit of a weird spot. It has a fairly low DPS but is extremely accurate at long ranges and has a nasty rate of fire. However, what sets it apart from other weapons is the fact that attaching the Prowler’s select fire hop up allows it to shoot full auto, giving it the ability to tear enemies to shreds. If you’re able to find the Prowler’s hop up in game, it can easily soar to an A Class gun.

• Hemlock: The Hemlock is an AR that fires a 3 round burst. If you’re able to land all 3 shots, the Hemlock is able to deal an impressive 54 body damage. The only problem with the gun is its inability to stand up at close range.
  
  
• Triple Take: The Triple Take is definitely the weirdest sniper in the game, as it fires three energy shots in a vertical spray. If you’re able to land all three shots, the Triple Take can be a pretty viable weapon, however once you start firing at long ranges, the shots spread too far to deal any serious damage. Still, the Triple take is a solid medium range weapon, especially for beginners.

A Class

R-301 Carbine – Apex Legends

These guns are a lot easier to find then those in the S Class, but they can still pack a mighty punch. These are the weapons you want to equip as early as possible.

• Peacekeeper: Decidedly the best gun in the game without counting the legendary weapons. The Peacekeeper is a lever action shotgun that sports a DPS of 106.7 and fires in a star formation. The gun has a longer reload time compared to the other weapons though, so if you’re not comfortable with twitch aiming, or struggle with accuracy, you might want to take a look at the EVA-8 Auto.
• G7 Scout: Combine this with a short-ranged gun like the Prowler or the Peacekeeper, and you’re looking at a loadout that’s sure to work in almost every situation imaginable. The G7 is a DMR with an incredibly high fire rate of 4.75 shots per second, making it the fastest sniper in the game. It’s best at medium to long range, and its forgiving magazine size makes it a great option for inexperienced players. Make sure to look for a good extended light magazine to enhance the weapon to its fullest potential.
• R-301 Carbine: The R-301 is the most versatile gun in the game. It’s an assault rifle that fires light rounds at 12 shots per second. What sets this gun apart from all of the other weapons is its insane accuracy. The gun has limited recoil, making it very manageable even for inexperienced players. If you add a couple attachments to the gun like a barrel stabilizer and a stock, the R-301 Carbine becomes an absolute laser that’s sure to shred enemies to bits.
• Wingman: A phenomenal revolver if accuracy is your strong suit. However, its low 6 round magazine size makes it a lot less forgiving than most weapons. Make sure to keep your eye out for it but try and take a few practice shots in the tutorial before trying it out in a match.
• Longbow: Another solid sniper rifle that is sure to rival the G7, the Longbow boasts an impressive 55 damage to the body and 110 to the head. While it has a lower fire rate compared to the G7 at 1.2 shots per second, the Longbow still holds its own in firefights, especially if you’re good at popping off headshots.

S Class

Mastiff – Apex Legends

While these are definitely the best guns in the game, there’s not much of a point in talking about them considering their rarity. The only way to get your hands on a Mastiff or Kraber is through supply drops and drop ships, and even then, their legendary status makes them extremely hard to find. Both of the guns have limited ammo that can’t be replenished throughout the match.

• Mastiff: A heavy shotgun with a horizontal spray. It deals heavy damage and can easily wipe ouy a squad in close quarter combat.
• Kraber: A 50 Cal Sniper capable of dealing 250 damage to the head in a single shot. In the right hands, the Kraber can take out a handful of enemies at long range without even being spotted.

Originally published on CG Magazine.

https://www.cgmagonline.com/2019/02/13/the-guns-of-apex-legends-ranked-from-worst-to-best/

AN EASY GUIDE TO ANTHEM’S CONFUSING PREORDER OPTIONS

Bioware’s Anthem is right around the corner but choosing the best way to pick it up looks like a demanding task. At the moment, there are 5 different ways to preorder the game and 4 different bonuses available. The problem is that not every bonus is available for each platform, and what’s worse is that there’s more than one version of the game available. To try and clear up the confusion, publisher EA released a full-fledged chart available below.

I don’t blame you if you’re confused. To make this as easy as possible we’ll start at the top of the graph.

Standard Preorder

So, the first option available is the standard preorder which is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

For $59.99 you’ll get a few extra goodies, including the Legion of Dawn armor skin, a Legendary weapon, and a Founder’s Player Banner. Technically you also got access to the demo, but that already passed on February 1^st.

If you purchase this version, you’ll be able to play the game on its official release date – February 22^nd.

Legion of Dawn Preorder

This version comes with a price hike of another $20, costing you a total of $79.99. For that extra 20 dollars you’ll get all the previous bonuses along with 3 different sets of Legendary armour, a Javelin gear attachment and the game’s digital soundtrack. For those unfamiliar with the Anthem, a Javelin is the exo-suit that lets you fly in the game.

You’ll be able to play the Anthem on the 1^st, just like the standard edition.

EA Access on Xbox One

While there may not be any more preorder bonuses, there’s still a total of three more ways to play the game, starting with EA Access on Xbox One. EA Access is EA’s premium subscription service that grants users early access to games along with other bonuses.

If you’re a subscriber, you’ll be able to play a quick 10-hour trial of the game a week before its official release on the 22^nd. You don’t get an actual copy of the game though, only a quick peek. If you want the full game, you’ll have to shell out at least another $60.

Origin Access on PC

Origin Access is EA’s PC equivalent to their EA Access service that’s available on Xbox. What makes this even more confusing is that there’s two tiers available.

Basic: If you’re a subscriber you’ll be able to play the game for a total of 10 hours on the 15^th.

Premium: You’ll get the entire game a full week before everyone else, albeit it’s an “early access” version.

Hopefully I explained that in the least confusing way possible, but if the chart still has you scratching your head, you’re not alone.

At this point, EA is pretty notorious for having overly complicated release schedules. Before its release in November,Battlefield V had a similarly confusing chart, once again cluttered with staggered release dates and “Play First” bonuses. The problem with the model is that no one’s really “playing first”, there’s just people playing last.

For all intents and purposes, Anthem should be releasing on the 15^th. While EA is no stranger to releasing unplayable titles, gamers already have an idea of exactly how the game plays thanks to EA’s Early Access demo on the 1^st. Instead, EA is forcing fans to pay extra to play the game on time. I haven’t even mentioned the fact that PS4 owners are out of luck no matter what, since they’re forced to pick up the game on its second release date (February 1^st).

While I can see why some avid fans might be open to dropping some extra money on collectors and special editions, this is getting a little out of hand. Fans are already spending $60 plus on your game, to demand extra for a title that isn’t even out yet is flat out insulting. If EA really wants to improve sales, maybe they should try treating their fans more like players rather than wallets.

If you still want to buy Bioware’s Anthem, you can pick it up on PS4, Xbox One and PC on February 22^nd. If you want to get it early, see the mess above.

Is This Upcoming Harry Potter Game Going to be Good?

In October of 2018, footage from what looked like a Harry Potter based RPG was leaked online and posted onto Reddit and Youtube. The footage included peeks at Hogwarts’ iconic Great Hall, a character creation screen, a section of the map, and more. While everything is still very vague and nothing has been officially confirmed, it seems right now that Avalanche Software will be developing the game. Avalanche’s parent company Warner Brothers currently has the development rights for the franchise and in 2017 put out an ad for what looked like a possible Harry Potter RPG.

Obviously, the internet freaked out. Fans were eager to see what the studio had in store, especially since the best Harry Potter game we have is either Chamber of Secrets for PC (2002) and Lego Harry Potter, which is a little sad. The last major Harry Potter game we’ve gotten was in 2011 with The Deathly Hollows Part 2, and that game was universally hated. This total lack of serious Harry Potter games has always seemed like such a missed opportunity to me, especially with the rising popularity of story-based RPGs like The Witcher 3 and Ubisoft’s newest installments of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

But there’s some bad news too. Avalanche has never really delivered anything of substance since its opening in 1995. For the most part Avalanche have only made cheap cash grabs off of Disney licenses, with their catalogue filled with gems like Toy Story 3, Cars 2 and Disney Infinity. What’s worse is that Warner Brothers have already released a Harry Potter game and it’s really, really bad. The game in question is called Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery and is a mobile game available for iOS and Android. The game is an “RPG” (if I can even call it that) and just uses the Harry Potter name to steal money from kids with micro-transactions. The gameplay is slow and unfun- but of course you can bypass this by spending money! You’ll also have to spend even more money once you get to a certain level in which the game cuts you off from progressing unless you buy some of those sweet, sweet microtransactions.

At this point I might seem like a bit of a hard ass. You might be asking “why does this guy care so much about a kid’s story?” or maybe you’re saying to yourself “hey, I thought the Lego games were pretty decent…”

Well, you’re right on both fronts, but that doesn’t change the fact that I really, really want a good Harry Potter RPG. I’ve been thinking about this since I was a kid waiting for my Hogwarts letter to come in the mail. At the time I was turning 11. I had already read all of the Harry Potter books twice and had begun to think about exactly what a Harry Potter RPG could look like.

I decided that I would be perfectly happy to just go to school. I would love to spend my time going to class, learning new spells, getting picked on by class bullies, and of course, battling infamous dark wizards. It was only in 2012 that I stumbled across a Pewdiepie playthrough when I realized this game already existed, albeit without the magic part. It was called Bully.

Bully is one of Rockstar’s lesser known game’s and follows a young High School student named Jimmy as he terrorizes his school. Swap Jimmy with Harry or James and boom, you have a Harry Potter RPG. If you add in a deep combat system and some branching storylines, you’re looking at something that has really good odds of being critically and commercially acclaimed. Just imagining a studio like CD Projekt taking on a Harry Potter game of this scale sends shivers down my spine.

As for the combat system, I have a few ideas. I feel like this new game could do to RPG’s what Skate did to skateboarding games- and I mean that literally. Instead of having shooter-like combat mechanics like the ones in previous Harry Potter games, take the joystick mechanics out of skate and apply them to spellcasting. You could take it even further by taking a page from the old Mortal Kombat book and going full combo-mode! Imagine how satisfying it would be to take out a group of Voldemort’s henchmen with a perfectly timed combination of button mashing and joystick flicking. I have chills just thinking about it.

Harry Potter has such a huge fanbase that you could release an empty PS4 case and probably get your money back, so it baffles me that no one’s thought to pull the trigger on a full fledged (actually good) Harry Potter RPG. Here’s to hoping that Avalanche Software steps up and actually makes something amazing here.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got, I’m done ranting about my nerdy dreams.

Personal version. Professional version first uploaded on CG Magazine.

My Thoughts on Apex Legends

Provided by EA

A couple weeks ago my girlfriend got me Titanfall 2 for my birthday. We had been playing the game over the Christmas break quite a lot (probably a bit too much), and quickly fell in love with the movement, gunplay and overall feel of the futuristic combat. When I heard about the possibility of an upcoming spinoff, I was pretty psyched, although since its developer Respawn was purchased by EA in 2017, I was more than a little apprehensive. I actually wrote a little bit about this in one of my articles over at CG Magazine.

Anyway, now that the game has been out for a few days I felt like I could jot down some of my thoughts.

Let’s start with the good.

For one, the combat feels great. Gunplay is punchy and all of the weapons feel unique and varied. A lot of the weapons from the last two Titanfall games have made a return, but all of them feel slightly different to use thanks to Apex’s extremely lengthy TTK. Last match I was locked in a sniper fight with another squad, and I swear I unloaded a couple clips on them and by the time I was able to heal and fire back they had regained all of their health. While this seems like it would be kind of annoying, it makes the late game super tense, and when you and two other squads are duking it out in a super tight circle, it can get extremely tense.

Another positive is how fast paced the games are. They’re more inline with Fortnite games rather than PUBG games. They’re nice and quick and are usually pretty full of action, even if there’s only 60 players instead of 100.

The map is a nice size and is varied across the board. It has a good combination of verticality while still maintaining pretty decent surface area. There’s ziplines and little air balloons that you can use to zip up to and fly off of if you need to cross a lot of ground fast.

Overall, the game is honestly just plain fun, and that’s not coming from a huge Battle Royale fan. I lost most of my interest in games like PUBG and Fortnite, but Apex just feels different. The combat is more engaging (a lot of which is due to the class based “heroes” that are in the game), and getting wins with your squad is super satisfying, even if you’re playing with randoms.

Another bonus is how easy it is to unlock new skins. The game is free-to-play, but it also offers paid cosmetic upgrades like new character costumes and custom weapon skins. But the best part is you can actually unlock them pretty easily for free, even if there’s a little bit of a grind to do it. It gives the game some progression that most other Battle Royale games are missing.

So, what are the negatives? Honestly, not much.

The lack of wall running and Titans is a little crappy, but I can’t really complain. There’s a reason the game is called Apex Legends and not Titanfall 3. Fans just seemed to get way too excited when a new Titanfall game was being teased, and I can’t really blame Respawn for that. That being said, if wall running does make an appearance later on, I would be super hyped to try it out. I’ll be crossing my fingers. What do you guys think of the game so far? Let me know!

Review: Bring Me The Horizon’s “Amo”

Source: http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/album-review-bring-me-the-horizon-amo

Bring me the Horizon’s latest studio album delves further away from their metalcore roots into an even poppier, more electronically influenced sound that more often than not takes away from the band’s well written and catchy pop-rock tunes.

From the opening track i apologise if you feel something, BMTH dives headfirst into the more experimental and electronic sound they’ve been developing over the years through songs like “Can You Feel my Heart” and “Throne”. The song begins with a spacey, low-key beat before adding Oli Sykes’ pitch shifted and subdued vocals. The song soon transitions into a slightly chaotic jumble of synths, strings and a weird ticking drum-like beat that manages to be one of the better EDM infused songs on the record.

While I wasn’t a huge fan of MANTRA prior to the album’s release, it’s grown on me a lot in the context of the track list. It serves as a fitting if not slightly predictable callback to the alternative rock songs of 2015’s That’s The Spirit. The song sports a bombastic (but not overdone) chorus and lyrics that delve into people’s willingness to blindly follow others. At the end of every chorus, an electronic voice utters the song name “mantra”, which never fails to both creep me out and amp me up all at the same time.

After the first two tracks the album takes a very sudden nosedive with nihilist blues which features a verse, bridge and chorus from the experimental pop singer Grimes. On the song BMTH foregoes any of their usual alternative rock trappings and instead foray into straight up EDM. If it sounds weird on paper, that’s because it is. The song doesn’t really work that well and is a bit of a slog to get through. The band takes a similar route on songs like ouch, why you gotta kick me when i’m down?, fresh bruises, and mothertongue.

 On why you gotta kick me, Oli Sykes… raps? Sort of? It’s really weird and a little jarring and doesn’t fit with the rest of the song. I can’t help but hear it as if it were Imagine Dragons going through their emo phase a little bit too late.  mother tongue is a sickeningly sweet pop ballad that genuinely makes me sick, and that’s coming from someone who enjoyed songs like Follow You and Oh No from the band’s last album. The song sounds like it would fit better in a Disney movie rather than a BMTH album and should be skipped at all costs. As for the other two EDM songs, ouch and fresh bruises are little more than instrumental interludes but sound pretty good for what they are.

Thankfully the rest of the album is populated with genuinely fantastic pop-rock songs.

in the dark is catchy as hell and has a stadium rock quality to it that would get a crowd dancing in no time. On the chorus, Oli sings,

“So don’t swear to God, He never asked you / It’s not His heart you drove a knife through / It’s not His world you turned inside out / Not His tears still rolling down / Jesus Christ, you’re so damn cold / Don’t you know you’ve lost control? / Forget about the things you think I know / No secrets, you can’t keep me”

The lyrics may be straight forward but even as a write them down I can’t help but sing along to them in my head.

sugar honey ice & tea is a song that I was sort of hoping the entire album would sound like. It’s got all of the fantastic elements from every great BMTH song (post-2013) and infuses some more electronic elements that fit a lot better here than anywhere else on the album. The pre-chorus is a slow and poppy build up with some clever and sarcastic lyrics: “It’s all messed up, only one thing I know for sure / We’re so full of sh- / Sugar, honey, ice, and tea”. It’s probably the best song on the album.

heavy metal is a song lashing out at all the BMTH detractors getting mad at their sonic transformation over the years. The chorus is super funny, catchy and hard hitting all at once. I could definitely do without the “sort-of” rapped verse from Oli as well as the efforts from Rahzel, but overall the song is well written and another bright spot on the album. Spoiler alert, it also has a pretty nasty scream from Oli near the 3/4s mark that fans stuck in the Suicide Season era will be sure to appreciate.

Overall, while the album definitely suffers from an overabundance of circa 2011 EDM inspired beats, the bright spots are more than enough for the album to to deserve a few listens from casual and hardcore Bring Me The Horizon fans alike. The album has a little bit of everything on it, and whether you’re a casual pop listener, rock fan or metalhead you’ll probably be able to find a few tracks you like.

I’m just hoping the band’s next album will be more similar to in the dark and sugar honey ice & tea rather than mothertongue and why you gotta kick me?