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Anthem's winter update, 'Icetide' is here
As EA and Bioware reportedly work out a new approach for Anthem, the game is trudging forward with the promised "seasonal" updates. After the "season of skulls" wrapped up in November, a new "Icetide" event has blanketed its world in snow and frost, while also mixing up the enemies and inventory that are available. Following its lore, the "Shaper" devices that create Anthem's world are responsible for the localized ice storms. As far as gameplay, each week it's rolling out a new seasonal stronghold for players to team up and take on complete with leaderboards. There are also time trials, new collectibles and more. EA said it would increase its focus on "live services," and before Anthem launched, developers talked about how they would continue to update it over time. While the launch of the game turned out to be a disappointment, this is at least a tiny step in that direction, and perhaps a treat for players who picked it up via EA Access or Black Friday sales.
BioWare may revamp 'Anthem' in a bid to save it
There's no question that BioWare has struggled with Anthem between bugs and basic mechanics, and has made significant gameplay changes in a bid to keep its shared world shooter alive. However, the developer might soon resort to more drastic measures. Kotaku sources say BioWare and EA are readying a revamp of the Destiny-like game nicknamed "Anthem 2.0" or "Anthem Next." The rethink will "drastically" change basics like mission design, looting and even the world itself. The team spent a few months simply "tearing [Anthem] down" and spent more months rebuilding the title, one tipster said.
'Anthem' gives its Cataclysm in-game event a second try
If you've stuck with Anthem through its many challenges -- and there have been a lot -- then congratulations, you're being rewarded with the return of the Cataclysm, and updates for the Season of Skulls. According to the latest patch notes, this will include new freeplay events, new data archives, a 250 percent increased chance to obtain a legendary item from a war chest and the availability of Mass Salvage on all inventory management screens. Plus, of course, the usual bug fixes.
BioWare hopes to fix 'Anthem' by swapping acts for seasonal updates
It's no secret that Anthem has had a lukewarm response. Dodgy game mechanics and various other bugs meant that developer BioWare published a blog post less than a month after its release, sharing its plans to make the game better. Now, the company has revealed more details on its planned improvements, which includes making changes to the way future Anthem content is released.
‘Anthem’ heads to EA Access after rocky launch
Anthem, the open-world action RPG by Bioware and EA, had a less than stellar debut earlier this year. The game is now available to EA Access and Origin Access subscribers, giving the troubled title one more chance to turn around its fate. Gamers will be able to access the "Standard Edition" of Anthem. If they're subscribers to the PC-only premier tier of Origin Access, they'll have access to the Legion of Dawn edition.
‘Anthem’ players already underwhelmed by its first Cataclysm event
BioWare's loot shooter Anthem has suffered through some significant issues, but many gamers have been holding out hope that the promised "Cataclysm" events may make them forget the rocky start. Details of the first planned Cataclysm were revealed on a Twitch livestream yesterday and the early reaction seems to be underwhelming, as the event doesn't appear to be as game-changing as it was once promised.
Six Bioware classics are coming to consoles this fall
A collection of classic BioWare roleplaying games will be arriving on consoles later this year. Physical and digital copies of Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate ll and Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment will all arrive in stores on September 24th in North America. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition will be available on December 3rd. All of the titles will be available for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
'Anthem' update adds a dungeon crawl, but delays Cataclysm
BioWare has added a string of content to keep Anthem fresh, although there are some omissions that could rankle early fans of the shared-world shooter. The newly available 1.1.0 update adds a new Stronghold (aka dungeon), Sunken Cell, that gives you a new place to explore once you've finished the main story. It also eliminates some of the drudgery in the game. You can access the Forge (the crafting station) anywhere in the world, start new missions without returning to home base and access contracts without having to pick them up one by one. You can spend more time actually fighting, to put it another way.
Recommended Reading: The road to 'Avengers: Endgame'
Road to Endgame: 'The Avengers' changed cinema and avoided the mistakes of past Marvel movies Siddhant Adlakha, Slashfilm Avengers: Endgame marks the end of a 22-film run for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While there are certainly plans to make more movies, this phase will soon be over. Slashfilm is revisiting all of them in the run up to the premiere of Endgame on April 26th. This week alone, the site has covered The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. You can see the full list of the recaps right here.
'Anthem' is proof that crunch can't save AAA games
Anthem is a fiery mess. Since launching in February, BioWare's loot shooter has been plagued by game-breaking bugs, narrative and gameplay inconsistencies and an overwhelming sense of incomplete blandness. Critically, Anthem has received middling reviews, and its current Metacritic score, 55, is the lowest a BioWare title has ever received. Yes, that includes Mass Effect: Andromeda. A report out of Kotaku this week helps explain why Anthem is in disarray, and it shines a light on a consistent and increasingly public issue in AAA development: crunch.
'Anthem' patch taps into NVIDIA's AI-powered antialiasing
A patch to Anthem released on Tuesday that will allow for faster performance as well as some added features. The update includes NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and NVIDIA Highlights. The game developer claims that Anthem players will see up to 40 percent faster performance with DLSS. DLSS uses AI to continually make the game more efficient, and automatically delivers updated algorithms to your machine.
'Anthem' was the top-selling game in the US this February
BioWare may be racing to fix Anthem after its bumpy launch, but it doesn't have to worry quite so much about its bottom line. NPD Group data shows that the shared-world shooter was the top-selling game in the US in February, and the second strongest game for 2019 up to that point (Kingdom Hearts III is the year's current champion). Moreover, this was the second best launch month for a BioWare game, falling only behind Mass Effect 3's debut in 2012.
BioWare promises to fix ‘Anthem’ after dismal launch
Anthem has had a rough launch, and no one is more aware of the issues than developer BioWare. In a candid blog post, company general manager Casey Hudson acknowledged the early run has been "rougher than expected" and said the team is "very disappointed" with the number of issues plaguing the title. Despite the problems, BioWare is offering reassurances to gamers that BioWare will continue to support and improve the game.
'Anthem' patch to fix crash, balance problems arrives Saturday
Anthem has had a launch troubled by various glitches, but its developers announced a patch that will deal with crashes and balance issues -- among many other things -- is going out between 8 and 10 AM ET on Saturday morning. As it attempts to compete in the "loot shooter" category, Destiny 2 is updating with new tweaks for its second season and The Division 2 is close to release, increasing the pressure to get things running smoothly and hang onto whatever player base it has. The list of fixes and tweaks is far too long to list fully, but check the Reddit post for all the details. The crash issues on PS4 should be among those addressed, as head of live service Chad Robertson noted a few days ago that it had identified causes for the "power-down crash" some had experienced, and after checking had not found evidence the game caused consoles to "brick."
‘Anthem’ bug makes starter rifle the game’s most powerful weapon
You've gotta pay your dues in shooter game Anthem. Like Destiny 2 and Warframe, you get ahead with tireless grinding, repeatedly working through the same missions to get your hands on better guns and better loot. So a recently-discovered bug is threatening the entire gameplay. As player YeetLordSurpreme revealed yesterday, the game's level 1 rifle is actually the strongest weapon in the entire Anthem universe -- and developer BioWare has confirmed the whoopsie.
'Anthem' is reportedly bricking and shutting down PS4s (updated)
Gamers would love to play BioWare's new loot shooter Anthem but there's one problem: the game keeps shutting off their console. A number of players have taken to Reddit and other forums to complain that Anthem appears to be plagued with an issue that at best boots them to the main menu and at worst caused affected users to need to rebuild their PS4's disk database.
BioWare outlines the next few months of 'Anthem'
Now that Anthem is available to everyone, there's an obvious question: what comes next? Not surprisingly, BioWare is ready to shed light on the future of its shared-world shooter. The studio has published a 90-day roadmap that shows plans for both more raw gameplay as well as deeper changes to the mechanics. The new Echoes of Reality phase starts out modestly, but you'll see more substantial additions before April is over.
Bioware fixes 'Anthem' end-game just in time for launch
Like it or not, the Anthem and Destiny comparisons refuse to go away. Just days after its Origin Access and EA Access release, players spotted a loophole in BioWare's new shooter akin to the "loot cave" area from Destiny's early days. The chest farming trick essentially let level 30 gamers grab high-level Legendary and Masterwork gear in Anthem's open-world areas, effectively allowing them to bypass its end-game grind. Streamers on Twitch and YouTube outed the trick on Monday before a map was shared on Reddit pinpointing the chest farm route.
Watch the 'Anthem' prequel from the director of 'District 9'
A short film set in the world of BioWare's online shooter Anthem, which highlights some of the universe's lore, dropped on Thursday morning. Conviction is directed by Neill Blomkamp, a name you might recognize from District 9, Chappie, the ill-fated Halo movie or an upcoming RoboCop reboot.
A bunch of BioWare classics are coming to console this year
Game developers and publishers Skybound Games and Beamdog announced today that they will be working together to bring a collection of classic PC roleplaying games to consoles. The companies will be breathing new life into a number of titles set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe.
