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Gaming headset review roundup: Five options, one favorite
As much as we'd all love surround sound in every room where we have a TV, it isn't always feasible. Be it budgetary reasons or living in an apartment with roommates who don't share your enthusiasm for late-night explosions, sometimes 5.1- or 7.1-channel audio is out of reach. Luckily, there are plenty of headphones to pick from. But that too comes with its own set of conundrums: Where does one even begin in that sea of choices? We've rounded up five options at a variety of price points to help make your decision a little clearer. With this edition, we're looking at the PlayStation Gold wireless headset, the Xbox Wireless Stereo Headset, the Astro A30 and A40 and, finally, the Blue Lola as a wildcard.
'Battlefield' could soon be coming to a television near you
The popular Battlefield video game series from Electronic Arts and DICE is currently being optioned as a television series by Paramount and Anonymous Content.
Here's everything we saw at EA's E3 'Play' event
Today, video game juggernaut Electronic Arts kicked off this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo with a show all its own. If you weren't a member of the press or one of the lucky few fans that were let into the event to experience it firsthand, don't worry: We've collected all the trailers that made their debut on The Novo theater's stage and put them in one handy spot for you. Want a look at the new multiplayer trailer for October's Titanfall 2? Look no further. How about FIFA 17's intriguing single-player story mode? We've got your back there as well, with a few other bits like a new glimpse at Battlefield 1's World War I action. Join us below, won't you?
'Battlefield 1' breakdown reveals a close attention to history
Video games play fast and loose with realism by definition, but authenticity still matters to some degree After all, it's hard to enjoy a history-focused game if there are obvious factual errors. So how does Battlefield 1 stack up, then? So far so good, if you ask the World War I history buffs at The Great War. They've conducted a shot-by-shot breakdown of the cinematic trailer and revealed that EA DICE is largely faithful to the technology of the conflict -- including in ways you wouldn't expect. That shovel-wielding German soldier you see above makes sense, for example, as the infantry learned that bayonets got stuck in victims. Early tanks behave as they should, and things like gas masks or pickaxes (for Italian soldiers scaling mountains) are true to form.
Why I don't have the stomach for 'Battlefield 1'
Battlefield is a tentpole AAA gaming franchise that has made its name by thrusting players into some of the world's most brutal and deadly combat zones. So while it was a little surprising to learn that Battlefield 1 would be set in World War I (few historical combat games have tackled this particular conflict), it's still in keeping with the series' history. In a more general sense, plenty of movies, games and books use war as a backdrop for storytelling, and plenty of those stories are quite violent. So why did the violence on display in Battlefield 1's trailer bother me so much?
The next 'Battlefield' drops you in WWI, launches on October 21st
EA and developer Dice today revealed the next major entry in the venerable warfare series Battlefield. Just as the rumor mill believed, the game will be set in World War I -- and the new game, appropriately, is titled Battlefield 1. "We chose the name because we're going back to the true dawn of all out warfare," lead game designer Daniel Berlin said at a private event near San Francisco for press and fans, "and this is the genesis of what modern warfare is today." The game will be out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC starting on October 21st, and an open beta will take place later this year.
Watch the announcement of the next 'Battlefield' here (updated)
EA and DICE are ready to show the world the next Battlefield game, and today's the day. Watch the live reveal right here starting at 4PM EDT / 1PM PDT. Little is known about the setting or timeframe of the new game, though rumors abound. Get the confirmation for yourself in the livestream embedded below. Update: The new game is called Battlefield 1 and it takes place during the first World War. Read our story about the setting, release date and platforms right here. Re-watch the reveal starting at 6:10:33 in the following video.
'Battlefield 4' hides an incredibly elaborate Easter egg
You've probably seen some clever gaming Easter eggs in your day, but few of them are likely to be this... involved. Gamers playing Battlefield 4's new Dragon Valley map have discovered an Easter egg that requires a massive, multi-step sleuthing campaign to complete. How massive? Well, it starts with translating Belarusian Morse code and moves on to hidden objects, logic puzzles and audio editing. The kicker is that this isn't repeatable -- even if you pay close attention to the video below, you'll have to do some of the hard work yourself.
EA launches an eSports division led by Peter Moore
Electronic Arts, the studio responsible for Star Wars: Battlefront, SimCity and the Battlefield franchise, has launched a new Competitive Gaming Division led by former COO and EA Sports President Peter Moore. The goal of the new business is to cultivate eSports opportunities within EA's library, most notably in the Battlefield, Madden NFL and FIFA franchises. EA's CGD will develop live events and broadcasting featuring eSports, plus create new, officially branded competitive experiences, CEO Andrew Wilson says in a blog post.
Rejoice! Visceral says Battlefield Hardline 'will work' at launch
Battlefield Hardline will operate as expected at launch, according to Ian Milham, creative director at Visceral Games. "What you're basically asking is, 'Is your game going to work?' And the answer is yes, it's gonna work," Milham told Game Revolution. The statement follows a rough launch for the last game game in the series, DICE's Battlefield 4, which suffered months of connectivity issues after its October 2013 arrival. That led to multiple law firms alleging that publisher EA issued "materially false and misleading statements" regarding Battlefield 4's playability. When a CEO like EA's Andrew Wilson publicly deems a game's launch as "unacceptable," questions about the next game's stability will certainly come up.
12 minutes of upholding the law in Battlefield: Hardline's single-player
EA showed 12 minutes of Battlefield: Hardline's single player campaign at its Gamescom 2014 presentation, but you can watch the same demonstration in the above video. EA's snippet follows protagonist Nick Mendoza as he hunts down someone from his past, a motivation that aligns with story details we heard previously from San-Diego Comic Con. Since Hardline stars a cop, players don't have to default to shredding enemies and environments to bits with bullets and explosions: in the demo, Mendoza subdues threats with a taser and a "Freeze" mechanic, brandishing his badge and conducting proper arrests to eliminate the threat posed by some criminals.
Order and Chaos Online goes free-to-play
The hit mobile MMO Order and Chaos Online has gone from reducing its up-front client cost to eliminating it completely. This past week, Gameloft dropped the price for Order and Chaos Online, making it officially free-to-play and gifting existing players 150 rune stones and a shining golden dragon hatchling for their financial support. The game originally launched as a subscription model, transitioned into a buy-to-play title for $6.99 back in 2012, and now will have to lean on in-game shop purchases to rake in revenue. Order and Chaos Online is celebrating its third anniversary with in-game gifts and quests. The MMO recently added a new PvP mode, Battlefield, that allows players to duke it out in 2v2 and 4v4 matches.
Battlefield Hardline's story makes good cops bad cops
We can't uphold or defy the law in Battlefield: Hardline until 2015, but thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, we can get a sense of what will unfold in its single-player content right now. According to Polygon's report, Hardline's story follows a pair of straight-shooting cops as they're set up by another group. As a result of being framed, they land in prison, faced with fighting their way out before settling the score with the people who put them there. Polygon notes a video shown to panel attendees depicted urban environments, as well as a scene following Hardline's lead cops as they storm a cocaine warehouse in a desert-like area. A crime lord named Roark owns the facility, and given his profession and choice of locale, we can't imagine he's receptive of any stop-ins from local law enforcement. Eugene Byrd (Bones), Kelly Hu (Arrow) and Benito Martinez (The Shield) will have significant roles in Hardline's story, with Mark Rolston (The Departed) playing Roark. Wendy Calhoun, co-producer of Justified, is serving as a narrative consultant, with The West Wing editor Bill Johnson working as Hardline's performance director. [Image: EA]
Don't call it laser tag: this is a real-life version of 'Left 4 Dead'
Every year we get another Call of Duty, but if you've given up hope waiting for a new Left 4 Dead, a Georgia-based company might have something a bit well, realer, to help tide you over. Blood, Guts 'n Glory [sic] is looking to take the aforementioned games off of your TV and put them in the real world with the help of slick Hollywood-style production and some high-tech weaponry this October. In Apocalyptic Infested Horror, teams battle against hordes of zombies played by actors or Kickstarter backers, while War-torn Fallujah Battlefield has you facing off against "insurgents." In terms of firepower, real weapons like the M4 assault rifle have been outfitted with infrared tech along the lines of what the military uses for training purposes, and the armaments apparently still sound like the real deal, have muzzle flash and require reloading. Authenticity above all, naturally. And thanks to a force feedback belt, you'll feel each attack you've sustained too.
Punkbuster wrongly bans Battlefield 3 players, EA working on solution
Alongside legions of actual cheaters, EA's third-party anti-cheating technology, Punkbuster, has apparently been booting innocents from Battlefield 3, a problem the publisher is currently looking into. "We are investigating an issue of Punkbuster bans that were incorrectly applied to some of our players," reads a statement on EA's official help site. "Please undertstand [sic] that our game advisors are not able to access or overturn Punkbuster bans, but we're working with our partners at Even Balance to get this resolved as quickly as possible." Even Balance is the developer of Punkbuster, a once-popular anti-cheating program that saw widespread use prior to the advent of Steam and Valve's Anti-Cheat (VAC) software. Since that time, many newer games (including EA's own Titanfall) have opted to use Valve's solution over the comparatively dated Punkbuster. Unfortunately, older games, such as Battlefield 3, remain tied to Punkbuster and its banning protocol which makes it very difficult for even the game's publisher to rescind punishment once a ban has been issued. [Image: EA]
Battlefield: Hardline does not point to annualized franchise, EA says
Last October, EA and DICE released Battlefield 4. This October, EA and Visceral Games are bringing the cops-and-robbers action of Battlefield Hardline. It's a move that brings to mind the way Activision handles its annual Call of Duty games, shifting developers year-to-year. So does that mean the Battlefield franchise will go the way of its biggest competition and become annualized? EA Studios executive vice president Patrick Soderlund told Polygon that's not necessarily the plan. "It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to annualize Battlefield and that's the way it's going to be forever and ever," Soderlund said, explaining that Hardline exists because the heads of DICE and Visceral wanted to make it, not because they were pushed to. "The EA that I'm trying to help build isn't an EA that needs to annualize everything," Soderlund said. This isn't the first time the topic has come up; shortly before Battlefield 3 made landing in 2011, executive producer Patrick Bach expressed his doubts that the series would become a yearly release. "I think that would dilute the vision of the franchise," he told GameSpot. "You will eventually kill the franchise by doing that." [Image: EA]
Battlefield Hardline's PC beta now available 'instantly'
PC owners are now able to gain "instant access" to the beta version of Battlefield Hardline just by signing up on the game's official site. The beta phase arrived earlier this month on PC and PS4, but sign-ups were previously on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those that were previously on the outside of the "Police Line, Do Not Cross" tape now have free reign to live out their policing fantasies in the early version of the game on PC. Signing up for the beta also grants players a few free perks when the game launches in full on October 21. Those include a weapon camo/skin, weapon sight, dog tag for Battlefield 4 (available next month) and as-yet-unknown "additional Battlefield Hardline content." Additionally, both PC and PS4 players that reach rank 10 will receive a special Battlepack at the game's launch as well as $1,000 of in-game cash by enabling Facebook sharing. For those still on the fence about Hardline, be sure to check out our video preview of the game. [Image: EA]
Playdate: Engadget plays the 'Battlefield: Hardline' beta on PS4! (update: game over!)
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They're fun!
Can Electronic Arts make a 'Battlefield' game that works?
I stopped playing Battlefield this year. Why did I stop playing the massively popular first-person shooter? Because it never works when it launches. For those who haven't experienced the promise and defeat of a Battlefield launch, it goes as such: A multiplayer beta precedes the launch, often by a slim few months, which is chalked up to server testing. Players enjoy the beta, which is sometimes buggy, but often stable enough. And hey, it's a beta. The game launches; millions of players splash into online servers; and it becomes unplayable for days, weeks and often months at a time. Battlefield games come out every year. This was not always the case, but in the past four years, we've seen three Battlefield games. Zero of those three worked at launch (I actually wrote about this back when Battlefield 3 came out, at our sister site Joystiq). Battlefield 4 launched last October; it just started operating consistently. At E3 2014, EA announced this year's entry in the series: Battlefield Hardline. It's with this tremendous amount of baggage that I approached our interview with Battlefield studio head Karl Magnus Troedsson.
'Battlefield: Hardline' is an insane version of cops and robbers, beta launches today
Who hasn't played cops and robbers at some point in their life? That's what Battlefield: Hardline is. Matches can handle 32 players and the portion of the match we saw at EA's press conference resembled classic heist flick Heat's climactic bank robbery, but the craziness is amped up dramatically. Player-controlled helicopters can swoop in to take out the robbers, cranes knock down building facades, and players can drop off of bridges and onto the back of a teammate's speeding motorcycle. Granted, this was a prepared video that cut around from perspective to perspective of multiple players, but it looked more chaotic than any match of Battlefield 4 that I've seen. Even better, if you want to play it right now, a beta launches today on PC and PlayStation 4. If you have a copy of Battlefield 4 on PS4 you can access the test-version via the dashboard of Sony's latest console. Need something to do while it downloads? Take a peek at gameplay video after the break.
