Battlefield 2042 takes players into the near future in a world ravaged by the most profound refugee crisis known to man. In this world space, players will become Non-Patriated, also called Non-Pats for short. Non-Pats are farmers, engineers, soldiers - they are the survivors, they are the fighters that don’t fight for a flag. They fight for the future of the known world. While combat-ready specialists are a part of that, this is less of a military regime and more of a fight for what those think is right. An interesting spin, but still with the high-tech military gear.
2042 does things a little bit differently for this gen, eschewing the usual single-player vs. multiplayer component, and instead offers players a hybrid experience. When I first learned that there was no single-player, I was bummed, but the more I learned about 2042, the more I understood what the vision was going into this new game. On the online side of the equation, DICE is pushing this shooter to the limit by upping the player count to 128 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. PS4 and Xbox One players are downsized to 64 to preserve the experience, though the studio promises that the lower player count will not impact the game’s overall style and feel.
Click here to watch embedded mediaFor those worried about Battlefield 2042 only being a multiplayer experience, there is some good news. DICE assured Game Informer that the decision to do things a little differently wasn't meant to alienate fans and that the maps and new modes are something special and meant to be enjoyed by all. For those that want to play the new Battlefield but maybe don't have friends with similar interests, every map and mode will offer the option to play up against AI instead. Same fun, less pressure, and less trash talk. Huzzah!
With more of a focus on multiplayer, there are three core experiences at the heart of Battlefield 2042. There’s All-Out Warfare, the next generation of fan favorites Conquest and Breakthrough. Paired with the largest maps in the history of the Battlefield franchise, All-Out Warfare is designed to be freeing, intense, and pure chaos. That chaos is ramped up to 11 by dynamic weather changes, evolving world events, and … oh yeah, freaking tornadoes.
Tornados, dust storms, and more ravage the maps while players battle it out. DICE tells us that players can choose to either stay out of a tornado’s path or harness its power to gain the advantage. No matter which way you spin it, taking out a sniper by using a giant natural disaster? Sounds pretty epic, if you ask me.
The second multiplayer experience is Hazard Zone. This aspect is all about high-stakes and communicating with your squad. This is a more modernized take on the Battlefield experience and stands on its own, completely different than that of All-Out Warfare.
The final aspect of the multiplayer experience is still a secret, something DICE will reveal more about this July. That being said, the studio did give us a cheeky smile when saying that longtime lovers of this particular shooter series will feel “right at home.”
We'll have a more in-depth breakdown of Battlefield 2042 later this week, so stay tuned!
Battlefield 2042 arrives on October 22 on all platforms.
At long last! Following numerous rumors and Bad Company 3 disappointments, the next step in the Battlefield franchise has been revealed. Introducing Battlefield 2042, an FPS experience set in the near future that challenges players to become something called a Non-Patriot after a refugee crisis overtakes what we know to be everyday life.
Non-Patrioted, or Non-Pats for short, aren't just your standard soldier. They are the engineers of the world, the humble farmer, the impassioned teacher. They can be anyone, they can be you. They don't fight for a flag or for a company, they fight for the future, a future you can be a part of with this new experience that offers new game modes, much larger maps, and literal tornadoes that you can run from or use to your advantage.
The reveal trailer starts off with a bang - literally - as we see an armed team get blown off of a cliff edge, only for some to impressively stick the landing expertly. From weaponry to the different vehicle types, our first look is nothing short of exciting, and an incredible pivot from the previous release seen in Battlefield 5.
Click here to watch embedded mediaDICE is pushing this shooter to the limit by upping the player count to 128 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. PS4 and Xbox One players are downsized to 64 to preserve the experience, though the studio promises that the lower player count will not impact the game’s overall style and feel.
We also got our first look at some of the Specialists, playable characters that have very real backstories and fewer limits than previous Battlefield games. In the past, players were limited to certain loadouts depending on the character chosen. This time around, that limit is removed. While the Special ability remains locked to preserve the uniqueness felt in each Specialist, the guns players can use are open no matter who you choose. This works even better with the combat wheel shown off, an option that allows Non-Pats to tailor their gear to the battle mid-match. Love to go sniper but suddenly found yourself in close-quarters combat? Pull up the wheel and switch out your weapon. Customize your scope. Trade out your gear, the battle is yours - hone it.
To learn more about the multiplayer experience, including how it doesn't leave single-player lovers in the dust with a multiplayer-only mode model, you can check out our impressions right here.
As for the game itself, Battlefield 2042 arrives on October 22 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players.
Thoughts on the Battlefield 2042 reveal? Are you excited to learn more later this week during E3? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below!
Dice’s Battlefield franchise is beloved for combining large-scale warfare with strikingly immersive realism – from suppressive fire blur effects to total map destructibility. Battlefield 2042 is slated to stand triumphantly on the shoulders of its successors by reconstructing the series’ most important gameplay pillars with the added help of next-gen technology. Sure, futuristic firearms and legions of heavily-armored vehicles are a sight to behold, but what about snaking tornados stripping glass windows from skyscrapers? Or impossibly massive sandstorms enveloping the land in thick layers of dirt and twigs? In Battlefield 2042, you can use dynamic weather to your advantage to take down enemies or make speedy arena rotations.
Like previous installments, you’ll be traveling all around the world – storming ravaged beaches, infiltrating towering metropolises, defending rocket launch sites, and experiencing so much more. While you’re crawling through dirt-filled trenches or pinned down in some multi-floor commercial building, the play state of your match might change in the blink of an eye when shifts in weather start to suddenly arise. Dangerous twisters are bound to materialize when you least expect it, tossing debris and even manned vehicles haphazardly. One Dice developer recalled a moment where a Humvee was fatally flung at a highly-skilled sniper that had been pinning him and his squad down.
While confirmed kills like the aforementioned one just happen to be an interesting (and extremely lucky!) byproduct of Battlefield 2042’s dynamic weather, you can also use the tornado to close the distance between you and an enemy or some arbitrary mission objective. For instance, wingsuit gliding allows you to fling yourself into the air and with the combined power of a devastating vortex, you might be able to get to high vantage points or arrive at a location before enemy reinforcements do. I imagine that you’ll also be able to stay seated in your favorite vehicles, despite being caught in the tornado’s grip – just be sure to evacuate or eject before you’re haplessly tossed at some bone-crushing structure.
Sandstorm footage was more brief, but appeared to tint the entire battlefield in foreboding, sanguine tones. It’s also safe to assume that visual clarity will be affected in substantial ways. Knowing the atmospheric presence of environmental effects in older Battlefield games, there will likely be more hazardous (and/or beneficial) climate changes coming to the full game when it finally launches.
How do you plan on utilizing tornados? Perhaps you’ll just throw yourself into its path during your first few encounters just to see what happens. Or, maybe you’ll come up with wacky plays that were never intended in the first place!
Arcade1Up has enabled game room enthusiasts to build mini arcades in their homes with a line of classic machines devoted to some of the most beloved quarter-munching games of all time. The company already offers cabinets ranging from Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter to NBA Jam and Ms. Pac Man, but today Arcade1Up announced another beloved Konami brawler will be joining its existing lineup as The Simpsons arcade beat-'em-up is joining the catalog.
Largely known by fans as The Simpsons Arcade, the brawler originally released in arcades three decades ago in 1991. The game lets you choose to play as Homer, Marge, Bart, or Lisa as you fight your way through Springfield in order to save Maggie. Much like Konami's other popular arcade beat-'em-ups, the original Simpsons arcade cabinet allows for four-player simultaneous co-op play.
Typical Arcade1Up cabinets offer two-player action, but the company has made exceptions for products like its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Golden Axe machines. Thankfully, The Simpsons Arcade1Up machine also features four joysticks, giving you the ability to experience the original four-player madness. Not only that, but if you don't have three friends wanting to jump into the game at your house, this cabinet also utilizes Arcade1Up's Wi-Fi system so you can join up with other players who own this machine across the globe.
The Simpsons Arcade1Up cabinet features a lit marquee, a matching riser to bring the machine closer to the height of a standard arcade cabinet (even with the riser it will still be shorter than a typical arcade machine in case you've never bought or seen an Arcade1Up product before), an exclusive stool, an 18" x 24" tin sigh, and a clear deck protector. The machine itself sands 57.8" tall and weighs just over 100 pounds.
This Arcade1Up machine costs $599.99. If you love the idea of having a mini arcade in your home, but are looking for other games, head here to check out Arcade1Up's full lineup.
Pre-E3 has begun with Summer Game Fest kicking off the festivities with tons of game reveals and celebration. For those that love a good zombie tale, Evil Dead: The Game is on the way. Based off of the movie, the Evil Dead game will have gameplay revealed later this week, and we've got our first look at Cheryl Williams before we get the full showcase.
The Twitter account for the upcoming game teased an image of Cheryl in a very Friday the 13th / Dead by Daylight fashion. With the traditional red font and vacant stare, this teaser is just the tip of the iceberg before we see the full gameplay reveal on Thursday, June 10.
Ash’s little sister is back for revenge
— EvilDeadTheGame (@EvilDeadTheGame) June 8, 2021
Here’s your first look at Cheryl Williams in Evil Dead: The Game
Get ready for the unveiling of Evil Dead in action. The official first Gameplay Video will be world premiering this week Thursday June 10 exclusively at the @summergamefest. pic.twitter.com/4SdMRb1WFu
This will be the first time we've seen gameplay for Evil Dead, but what we really want to see is good 'ol Ash. While his sister is cool and all, the world is a little bit better with the weirdness that is her brother. That being said, it is nice to see Cheryl front and center seeing as she is a playable character. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more fan-favorites from the iconic horror movie franchise later this week.
Interested in learning more about the game ahead of the gameplay reveal? According to the game's official synopsis:
“Step into the shoes of Ash Williams or his friends from the iconic Evil Dead franchise and work together in a game loaded with over-the-top co-op and PVP multiplayer action! Play as a team of four survivors, exploring, looting, crafting, managing your fear, and finding key items to seal the breach between worlds in a game inspired by all three original Evil Dead films as well as the Starz original Ash vs Evil Dead television series.”
Are you ready to see more? The Evil Dead: The Game gameplay reveal debuts on June 10.
Are you excited to see the Williams siblings once more in the upcoming Evil Dead game? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below!
For those that have a PlayStation 5, a new PS5 update is rolling out today that tackles the usual performance enhancements. It also includes adjustments to the DualSense controller, and it looks like that firmware update tackles the battery issue players have reported.
For those expecting a big flashy update, we've got some bad news. Outside of the DualSense, this one is pretty standard. It's so small, that Sony didn't even release official patch notes on the web. So why are we writing it? Mostly because of the DualSense.
When booting up the PlayStation 5, a new update message can be seen. It says the standard jargon of: "This system software update improves system performance." Which, really, could mean absolutely anything or nothing at all. Still, PlayStation users took to Reddit fairly quickly to drop a few specifics, including how the update targets the DualSense battery issue. For a while now, PS5 players have reported a bug with the controller's battery indicator. We're testing this out for ourselves, and we'll update this article if we find anything that may have been missed with this update.
The update will download automatically when the console is booted, so no worries about setting anything up. It's a small 1GB, as well, so no worries on making room on your system for what's new.
Don't have a PS5? You're not alone. Unfortunately, it looks like that shortage could continue for a little while longer. “I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said in a statement earlier this year about the potential for restocks. That being said, small bursts of console restocks have been seen, mostly at Wal-Mart and Target, so hope is completely crushed. It's not great, but it's not crushed either.
Noticed anything with the update besides DualSense tweaks? Sound off in the comment section below!