Strider Hiryu

I'd love a Reinhardt one, besides Mercy he's my favorite character. I'd also like to see one for Mercy. Is it me or were there multiple Reinhardt's in that other Bastion's memories? I'm taking it that Reinhardt's armor isn't just unique to him (I spotted at least two in the short wearing the same armor carrying hammers, one of them could of possibly been Reinhardt) and was something that other Overwatch agents and soldiers wore during the omnic crisis. I have a feeling they'll do one for each character or at least the characters that haven't had much screen time in the various other shorts and promotional vids (we've had one for Winston, 76, Widowmaker, Hanzo/Genji and now Bastion. There were those animated comic shorts for Roadhogg/Junkrat and Ana but I get the feeling they'll get proper shorts somewhere down the line). I did like 76's short (and I loved Hanzo/Genji's) but there just something about Bastion that just made his video so adorable (for lack of a better term). He's the little robot who could (plus his friendship with that bird is just cute, it's nice to see how he overcame his original programming (though it seems his memory is rather fragmented so that may have something to do with it as well)).

I honestly can't see why they wouldn't be in Rush. It'd be retarded to build these classes up and then limit what modes they/re in (and the only one I think they'd be left out of would be TDM as they would be rather unfair to go up against, then again I watched Level's video on the Flame Trooper today and he got smoked pretty quickly while playing it (I mean it took less then a minute to drop him but that flamethrower is OP if it gets a chance to hit you)). Again until we get our hands on them I'll reserve my judgment. The Flare Gun is pretty op by what I've seen and it lasts for quite awhile as well, then again it needs to be with the changes to spotting. No more hiding in corners on the point for me anymore (I'm bad at doing it in BF4).

That is my favorite short by far, god that robot is charming as hell.

The thing with battle pickups from BF4 were that none of them were really game changing (the exception being the railgun from Final Stand). The MGL 320 is 12 shots and honestly not your best choice for killing people unless you're trying to clear a point, WALL-E (I forget it's actual name) isn't really that powerful unless you know how to use it, the .50cal Sniper is a bitch but honestly no worse then dealing with a normal sniper (with the exception of the one shot kill anywhere), and the other pickups really weren't that important as well. I get they won't be heroes per say but they have the ability to really sway the course of battle into the favor of the team controlling them (though they do seem relatively easy to kill from a video Level posted today, the Sentry got one shotted by a Rocket Gun). I'm just really unsettled by DICE's choice here by making them a pickup load out instead of just being the weapon. As usual I'll hold my full judgement for after the beta when we get to try them out but I'm just not comfortable with how they're doing this (I'd rather have the Tank Hunter's rifle be the pickup then actually get a loadout based on it). The only real good thing I heard in the videos was that these are on a reasonable re-spawn timer and they're tied to flags (and hard to find at that). Sadly thought it will only be a matter of time before everyone knows there spawn locations so they'll be farmed extensively (thankfully I plan on learning and sticking to air combat, the planes just look like so much fun to use in this game. Well that and mastering the horse).

So they really didn't do anything the Zenyatta by what I read except make his Orb somewhat weaker so teammates can't take advantage of that damage boost then increase his base damage by a factor of roughly 7%. Not complaining but its just odd they'd nerf his Discord but up his base damage. Whatever, I'm sure Blizz knows what they're doing. The buff to Mercy's healing is nice (making me happy since I know I'll be playing a lot of her once I get Overwatch). That's a pretty harsh nerf to Genji considering how hard he actually is to master. This will probably kill his pick rate once the patch hits (kind of like how Widow's nerf killed her pick rate). I can understand the double jump change and the Swift Strike change towards interrupting quick attacks but the Dragonblade nerf is unwarranted. 8 seconds is not a lot of time to begin with to get kills unless you happen to be right in the middle of the enemy team (which most Genji's are when they use it) but I've always thought of his ultimate to be a room clearing ability. He's a ninja for god sakes, he's supposed to be extremely good at killing people. The Dash nerf is also a little questionable as ninja's are fast and agile and should be able to bypass traps without setting them off, the damaging thing I can somewhat agree with (though honestly I've never been able to notice Widow's traps on the ground (I honestly don't even know what they look like, I only played her like 3 times in the beta and I have never actually tripped one while fighting against her)). I sense a lot of bitching once the patch hits and they'll backtrack on some of the changes I'm sure (or tweak them somewhat). Mei's change is meh.

Really Konami, this is what you do with Kojima's baby after he leaves the company? Wow, I've never been the biggest MGS fan around but even I can tell this is a slight on the game series. What the hell is with developers these days and their damn survival games? Honestly, a few games do well with the genre and now everyone just thinks they can do the same.

I'm happy to see that Bungie finally got it through their heads that the games needs a story and not just random tidbits of lore thrown around the multiple planets for you to look for. It's a little late but at least they're starting to learn from their mistakes. Sadly though this DLC just doesn't look that interesting. I've always been curious as to who the Iron Lords were and what happened to them but I don't think it should be the focus of a whole DLC (which, by what I've heard in the rumor mill, is extremely short). This is more of a Iron Banner thing and should of been implemented back when Iron Banner first started (kind of like Trials, work you're way to the Hold through pitched combat against your peers). I understand that Saladin has been training the guardians to take on some sort of threat (it was stated in what little lore we got back in the day) by why would you throw us into combat against each other to train us? It makes no sense that we fight each other and then when the threat returns/surfaces again we're now supposed to fight enemies that fight completely different from guardians (and by the looks of it their own, untainted brethren). I'm getting the feeling the Queen's story is done considering nothing has been mentioned of her since her part in TTK ended (sad to say but I think they killed her off). As for Rasputin who knows why they took the focus off of it again (probably because they didn't think that far ahead in their story). As for old strikes, they're still viable with the TTK facelifts almost all of them got but they're pretty much the same thing you've run before with the exception of almost all enemies now being Taken. Old raids are old raids and will never be viable again. Its the same thing you see in MMO's (with GW2 not really having a raid scene I can understand why you've never really run into this problem, TOR suffers from it as well), all old raids are pretty much made useless when a new one comes out. Sure, you can run them for glamours (FFXIV) or transmogs (WoW) to allow for different looks (kind of what you're getting at here but Bungie's take is a little different on customization, it seems that this ornament system is tied to the piece and they didn't say anything about having to acquire them from the world (unless there is some material I've missed, it's not stated in the video)) but no one is going to run them unless they're bored enough to do so (you rarely, if ever, see people running the old raids in FFXIV for glamour gear. It's just not worth the time). They'd have to fundamentally change the raid to make people want to run them again (or in the case of Destiny actually allow you to get TTK versions of old raid weapons (335 version of the Fatebringer anyone?)) and Bungie has pretty much already stated that they won't do this. Meh, considering how well Destiny is still doing (it's still one of the top 10 streamed games everyday on Twitch, fuck the Destiny community is extremely excited for this DLC (sad really but I guess there will always be people interested in playing mediocre games)) I get the feeling Destiny 2 will suffer from all the same stuff Destiny has been. Bungie isn't one for changing a formula that works well for them, you could see it in the Halo franchise when they were still working on it. Each of the Halo games was pretty much the same thing with minor changes to certain aspects (changes that were usually met with backlash, the old pistol being removed in 2 is a good example of this) and a lot of those things that carried over were things everyone bitched about in the older titles. Bungie just doesn't have the capacity to learn from their mistakes and it's going to continue to hurt this franchise in the future.

Can't wait to get my hands on the horses but I'm not actually hip on the Elite Classes (though I am happy they're battle pickups, I was worried how they were going to handle this). Sadly I missed the live stream but this map looks amazing just from this video.

This is the problem everyone is running into now, it's getting boring and there just isn't enough to keep anyone interested without starting a new game. TeaWrex is to the point that he's trying to do massive jumps just to get to the center, something that's proving difficult as most of his jumps are only 300 ly (and that's a 15 planet jump) and he doesn't want to use blackholes as they're random and end up damaging your ship. Honestly this is the problem I figured the game was going to have from the get go, to little to do once you get everything you need to get to the center.

I think that's one of the main reasons they did it besides all the Alpha testers getting bored with the St. Quentin Scar map (and the fact that the Alpha was streamed by almost every major Battlefield streamer/youtuber, pretty much everyone knows the ins and outs of the map by now). I'm really hoping they give us access to the newer weapons they've been show casing recently (especially that new MG and semi-auto shotgun) and to the horses (apparently you spawn with a different loadout if you choose the ride a horse, similar to the mechanic/pilot class for spawning in tanks/airplanes. I'm extremely curious as to what we'll have access to on horseback). It's going to be a long two weeks waiting for this.

That will be on hell of an assignment to complete God that trailer was awesome. Can't wait until the 31st (or around then, they haven't said how early we get in as Insiders) when we'll finally get access to the beta and this amazing looking map.

That's awesome and certainly something I have yet to see in the streams I've watched.

Meh, after watching people stream it I'm not overly impressed with the game. Don't get me wrong it's beautiful (I love how all the planets look different and have different features, I especially love the mostly water based planets (they look so pretty)) but I agree with Matimi0 (he hasn't played it but has been watching others do so), it's all style and no substance. I love games built on the concept of exploring but I just don't like how it was handle here, it's like Minecraft but with less to do (or Terraria for that matter, a game I absolutely love due to the freedom it gives you). Don't get me wrong the game is absolutely a blast to watch someone else play, kind of like watching a Sci-Fi film/show. TeaWrex is absolutely hilarious to watch, he turns it into a whole chat experience (going so far as to treat his ship like a transport service, donning goggles and acting like a pilot. Fakes turbulence and everything). Plus inventory management drives me nuts, I already do it every day on FFXIV and that's infuriating enough. I'm also not happy that they pulled the multiplayer component from the game but I won't discuss the point, it's already being argued about everywhere on the net and honestly neither side has gained any footing. I won't be picking this up but I'll continue to watch streamers play it as it's a fun experience, plus it adds a little spice into what I watch (I can only watch so much Overwatch, FF, and Destiny (yea I watch others play it, it's more entertaining then playing it). However I can watch Matt play R6S everyday). I might pick it up eventually but for right now it's not worth the price they put on it and honestly they need to add more to the game to get me more interested.

God do I hear you on the negatives. My god you can't go anywhere in the system without being jumped at least 5 times by pirates while heading to my destination and it's always against pirates that are way more powerful then you are (I'm really starting to hate Missile Corvettes, they shred my shields and armor like paper). This, by the way, is with everything being upgraded to Mk. II except my deflector and I'm also flying a light frigate (upgraded recently, now saving up for the standard frigate and then for the heavy frigate). Fuck I had the Militia attack me today just because I picked up a piece of illegal cargo (didn't even fire a shot at them, in fact I had just saved their asses from a pirate attack). I find it easy enough to distinguish between friend and foe as long as you use the pulse system, it flags all friendlies with a blue outline and all enemies with a red (though I have accidentally fired on a Militia ship, mostly because the bastard ran in front of my shot). I'm not anywhere near as far as you though Myk so some of them don't apply (I have yet to leave the first system (then again I'm no where close to being able to afford the jump jets), my plan is to leave it with the heavy frigate (which costs over a million credits) so I'm at least sitting at a decent ship with decent firepower (thus I'm taking my time, I've only just recently picked up the first reliquary for the A.I.)). I've fashioned myself into a Space Trucker/Mercenary. I'll run supply runs between stations while also picking up the protect merchants/Distress Signals/fight off pirates missions (in fact I'm almost friendly with the militia). It certainly has proven to be the most profitable venture for me. Once I upgrade to the standard frigate I'll be placing a mining laser on it to do some prospecting (ore seems to sell relatively well) for more cash (with my current set up I can afford to place a mining laser on the frigate when I buy it as I have 3 pulse turrets on my light and they shred any lightly armored ships and do okay on anything medium and up so I can get buy with giving up a turret slot).

I'm the opposite, I rarely if ever follow any coverage a game might get (I honestly don't like VG247 anymore (I honestly don't like them anymore, they're to focused covering shit that doesn't matter. I could care less what Xur has on sale this week or what Ubisoft did to fuck the Division up more. Give me honest news about things that actually matter in the industry) and I've never liked Kotaku). Most, if not all of my interest in a game, is generated solely from trailers and ads (and of course the youtubers/streamers I follow (like Jack, Level, Matt, etc)). As much as I don't want to admit it I don't even think coverage of any kind would of saved this game from its fate, Overwatch is sadly the go to Hero Shooter (I only say sadly because it has no competition as Paragon is more of a MOBA than a hero shooter) and that won't change until someone else develops one that can match it (which, lets face it, probably won't happen. Blizzard games rarely, if ever, have any real competition on the market. Starcraft 2 honestly has not opposition (there are plenty of RTS games out there but very few follow the old school format like it does and that's its main selling point (besides the millions of loyal SC fans who would of bought anything with the SC name on it)), there really isn't a good Action RPG out there that can compete with Diablo 3 (there are plenty of them out there but none of them satisfy that loot grinding itch like Diablo does), and WoW is still dominating the MMO market and will continue to do so until they pull the plug on it (no matter what anyone says there has yet to be an MMO as successful as WoW since it was released (at its high point it had 12 million active subscribers, I believe FFXIV is sitting at around 5 million at thats after 2 years (3 on the 27th of this month)). That's the one good thing about Blizzard, they're a developer that always releases a high quality product (even with the bugs) and very few developers can compete with that quality. As much as I've grown to dislike them more over the years I can't help but admit that they always release a quality product (even if I don't agree with their butchering of their own lore and universes (this is a topic for another discussion but I'm pretty sure my hatred for how they treat their franchises is well known)).

While launching so close to Overwatch did hurt it sales a lot of the blame can also be put on the marketing team behind Battleborn. The game had very little advertisement prior to it's release (hell I think I only ever saw one trailer for it after it was announced and they focused on advertising it in a medium that very few people even look at) which can seriously hinder a games chance at becoming big. It also doesn't help that the game, while it's a great game, doesn't have what makes Overwatch great. Yes it has great heroes and a great back story but it's maps are just kind of bland and the play style actually promotes solo play where as Overwatch's maps are great (if not a little tedious sometimes), the characters are awesome (and extremely well balanced), if you actually dig around and watch the story cinematics it has a great back story, and the game actually promotes and down right enforces the need to play as a team (something that most FPS games lack). Titanfall 2 is going to have a rough launch and that's extremely disappointing, especially for someone like me who never got to play the original and is really looking forward to playing it. EA really set up Respawn to fail with the launch window it gave them. Titanfall 2 will still sell well and do great but it's just going to be hard to get gamers off the BF1 hype train. Honestly if it was so important to release Titanfall 2 this year they should of shot for a July/August release or pushed it back to come out around Christmas (the July/August mark probably wasn't feasible since I'm sure the game is still in Alpha testing with a beta test window coming up here shortly (if it's not already live)). This would give gamers a few months with BF1 and allow them to transition into a completely different FPS, something I'm sure a lot of us would welcome since I'm pretty sure we'll all pretty much be playing BF1 every chance we get from launch. Plus another thing that will probably hurt it is all the talk about it not feeling like a new game and feeling exactly like the original Titanfall (almost every streamer I watch or follow on youtube has said the game almost feels like a re-release of Titanfall (MP wise)). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, look at COD, but most gamers don't want to hear this (especially since it'll bring up the same concerns that plagued the original, like lack of maps/game modes/etc).

I believe, based on what I've heard XFactor and Matt say, that the amount you loose or gain is based on the skill ratings of the other team. I know the system keeps you pretty well matched for skill ratings (going so far as to try and match you against other teams that have similar make ups (like if you queue as a team of two it tries to match you with opponents of similar make up)) but I do know you do occasionally run into a team that has a few higher skilled players. Like I said I'm not entirely sure but I've seen Matt loose whole ranks because he lost to a team comprised of higher ranked players. I've also seen him gain an entire rank for winning against the same type of team. I'm sure other factors are brought into the equations, like how badly you lost or how badly you stomped the competition, but it seems ranks heavily influence your loss or gain. I think Blizzard made comp mode to do just that, make you play with who you're good with much like a MOBA does (most pro MOBA players stick to the same heroes exclusively, you rarely see any of them choose something different (then again they also play on teams so they can do this)). This is generally why if you watch Matt or XFactor they stick primarily with who they're good at (X loves and is a beast with McCree but he also switches out for Roadhog and the occasional Pharah. Matt generally sticks to Ana, Tracer, Reinhardt, and most recently Junkrat). Same could be said for any of the competitive players and streamers which is why I'd be scarred to play comp. I'm really only good with Mercy, Reinhardt, and Lucio but I don't always want to be thrown into playing just healers and tanks. However, as we know, I'm more then willing to eat the bullet and do whats best for the team even if it does irk me from time to time. That sudden death system needs to be revamped imo. It pretty much always favors the attackers but then again I'm speaking from the PC side. Most of the game modes that can end in ties pretty much always favor the attacking team and considering it's based on a coin flip it really does suck when you get stuck on the defending side. That meta is slowly starting to shift into a more even playing field now (what with certain heroes being nerfed and buffed) but it still favors the attacking team more so then not.

Ana is another that would benefit from a mouse and keyboard, what little console gameplay I've seen of her is rather blah compared to PC play of her (then again console players don't seem to understand how to play her so that could be the major reason). Genji and Widow would be the two that would benefit the most from using this kind of set up on console as both are rather difficult to play with a controller (I was pretty good with Genji in the beta but I'll admit he's a bitch to use with a controller). McCree isn't really that hard to master with a controller but it does require you to get used to playing at higher sensitivity settings (imo at least, at my normal settings it's hard to play him effectively). I wouldn't go so far as to consider what they're doing cheating and more just exploiting an already in place set of mechanics/controls (though that exploiting is using a third party system to do so). It's really no different then using those 3rd party controller from the old days (you know with their Turbo buttons and what not). I'd still be infuriated as all hell to run against someone doing this though as it takes the fun out of the game for those you're playing against. Then again gamers are some of the most self-important and egotistical sub-group around. You know Blizzard will find a way to patch out the functionality or Sony/Microsoft will do it themselves.

You know it'll be a support gadget, there's no way they'd take it away from support (especially considering how underwhelming support is in this game (from what I've seen from closed alpha, support players were slim to none is almost every game Matt played)). Plus honestly making it a battle pick-up is kind of retarded. Undervalued? What game were you playing? My god the mortar spam in 4 made me hate the gadget with a passion (I only used it to get the RPK unlock assignment done). God you can't take a step outside on a Locker match without getting bombarded by 5 different mortars. Mortars are the main reason I don't play Locker servers anymore (and Locker is one of my favorite maps from BF4) and stick to Metro servers (thank god Metro Conquest is in a subway, I can only imagine how bad the mortar spam is on the Rush variant). My question is will the anti-armor rifle be a battle pick-up or not. I'd really like to get my hands on it but if it's as good as it looks it's going to be extremely hard to get it if it's a battle pick-up (like the railgun in BF4, you'd have a better chance of finding gold at the end of a rainbow then you would finding the railgun (and I say this knowing where it spawns on all Final Stand maps)).

The only real reason to buy the Neo when it releases is for VR gaming as it seems that's the main reason it's being developed outside of 4K gaming (something about the current PS4 not being powerful enough to run the Morpheus or something like that (I know the current model can run the headset but I don't think it will do it entirely well). Again not entirely sure, I read up on it back when the Neo was leaked but that was awhile ago). That's the main reason the Scorpio is being made as well, both Microsoft and Sony are going to start pushing VR into the forefront now. Honestly this is what we get to look forward to now with every new generation of consoles. It's to the point now where they might as well stop making consoles and just start selling pre-made boxes like Valve is doing with their Steam box and just allow us to part swap every few years when we need to instead of giving us a new console every few years because they found a way to make it slightly more powerful. This is starting to feel like it did when I finally caved in and started buying Blu-Ray over DVD (I had a hard time making the switch as I didn't see the point, DVD quality was just fine imo), man I'm starting to feel like a grumpy old man who longs for the old days when things made sense and I only bought one thing that lasted for 10+ years.

It's completely free of micro transactions so there is no pay to win, just long boring grinding of missions to make the credits needed to buy that next upgrade or that next ship. I'm thinking I'll be going the same route as you Myk, fighting just isn't worth it in this game.

While Symettra's pick rate isn't really that high I've seen her used quite a bit on PC (again another way of showing how different the meta is on console compared to PC). In the right hands she's a monster (especially when buffed by Ana, I don't know why you'd ever buff her but it does turn her into a monster) and if the player knows how to place her turrets correctly they can be devastating. Her main reason for being chosen on PC though is for her Teleporter so you really only see her utilized on certain maps where having it is extremely beneficial to the team and it doesn't take away from the team comp. Again its sad to hear that nobody on console knows how to use Ana effectively. Her abilities alone make her a great support character but only if you use them correctly and use her as she supposed to be used. Then again, as you said, it seems console players are a lot more casual then PC players (this is far from a bad thing but it also means heroes aren't being used correctly). It just boggles my mind how different one game can be between platforms. Take McCree for instance, he's not a widely picked hero on PC. Sure you'll see a few here and there but since his nerf only those that are extremely good with him will even play him. I've never seen this happen with any other game before and I'm honestly surprised its a Blizzard game doing this. It just goes to show how good they are at making games.

Hmm, this must be a console thing. She's a freaking beast on PC (go watch some of Matt's videos, he's a fucking machine with her) because her grenade is hard to contend with (healing boost plus a big heal) and her ultimate make anyone she puts it on into a monster (good god the wreckage I've seen XFactor do as Roadhog when Matt alts him, it's amazing). I do understand that it takes a damn good player who understands her to make her this way but I've seen mediocre players wreck with her on PC. It saddens me if she really is this bad on console because I was really looking to get my hands on her when I finally get the game (no matter what she seems to be what I'm looking for in a hero, I love Mercy I really do but I've wanted a healer that plays almost exactly like Ana (though not with the sniper rifle twist)). I think a lot of people also need to understand that shes not a primary healer, she's a support healer made to back up Mercy and Lucio. She was never meant to be the primary healer of the team and I'm wondering if that's not why she seems underwhelming on console. They also need to realize shes not a pure dps class either, she'll never hit as hard as Widowmaker due to her being support. She's meant to harass the enemy with her grenade and to knock off pop shots when she's not healing her allies. Of course I'm basing this all off of what I've seen since I haven't actually gotten the chance to get my hands on her (nor will I until I get the money to buy the game) He definitely got a massive buff even if it might not seem so based on what was actually done. I've seen Matt go completely ham with Zenyatta (I've seen him solo a Reinhardt and a Roadhog at the same time, was glorious). I'm really happy to see that he finally got some recognition for Blizzard because in beta he was just so weak. I'm happy to see this as well. I've been noticing while watching PC matches that D.Va is probably the number 1 picked tank outside of Roadhog. I loved her in the beta but she was just to difficult to use and it seemed like she was wearing paper armor in her mech compared to Reinhardt and Roadhog. On the other points nobody really uses Torb on PC so I didn't even know he got a nerf (he wasn't being used well before this update). Mercy did need that Res nerf, she was completely broken in beta considering how fast it took to charge it (she'd still be my first pick if I had to heal, her heal is still the best single target heal). Lucio becoming the main healer isn't a surprise as he's the most mobile healer and in comp mode you need a mobile healer. Plus it's hard to pass up a healer who's ult shields everyone (the best counter ult to quite a few hero ults). Nice plays by the way (especially that D.Va one).

Eh, Rebel Galaxy is ok. I played around on it for a bit today and while it's fun it doesn't really tell you how to do anything (like I'm completely lost on mechanics, one missions tells you to go mine some ore but forgets to tell you exactly how to do it forcing you to go the other route which is talk to traders to buy it and then get attacked by overpowered pirate ships) and the combat is boring as hell (it's pretty much naval combat (if you've played AC3 or 4 then you'll be right at home) with an emphasis on broadside attacks, you're flying a battleship so don't expect awesome space dog fighting). Plus you burn through credits extremely fast trying to keep you're ship repaired (plus weapons, engines, shields, etc are extremely expensive (not to mention the next ship you can buy is 43,000 credits and it's honestly, stat wise, not worth the money)). Honestly it's an ambitions title that falls short and is worth the dl since it's free if only to waste time while you wait for something else to come out.