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'Super Smash Bros.' 8-player mode just got a whole lot better
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U raised the stakes for local multiplayer with its 8-Player Smash mode, but gamers were limited to just a few stages for the frantic action. That's changing today as Nintendo is pushing out an update that adds 15 more stages to the mode, more than doubling the choice for players. Mario Circuit, Lylat Cruise, Pyrosphere, Luigi's Mansion and many others now support 5-8 characters, and have seen small tweaks to make them suitable for the additional demands. Perhaps the biggest tweak can be seen in Mario Circuit, which no longer has karts racing around. Today's update is yet another example of Nintendo catching up with the times by offering DLC and additional content for games after release. It's also only the first of many updates. Nintendo has already committed to add Mewtwo as a playable character, a Mii-themed stage and an all-new Tournament mode. There's no word on whether Nintendo will offer paid-for DLC expansions for Super Smash Bros., as it did recently with Mario Kart 8. At the moment it's simply adding more features for free.
TUG's multiplayer goes live
Yesterday, the first stage of TUG's multiplayer went online with its 0.8.1 alpha patch. Players can now bump into each other in both survival and creative modes. But wait -- there's more! The patch also sports a brand-new terrain engine, a new UI, better mod capabilities, additional AI characters, and a handy return stone. The TUG team will be at booth #1483 at PAX South this weekend and will be selling access to the game at a discount for the duration of the convention. Massively will be reporting on TUG from the show floor, so stay tuned!
TUG is pushing out multiplayer updates
The multiplayer lifestyle will be all the rage in TUG in the coming weeks, as the devs have said that they're preparing to push updates out to get more people playing together. Survival and creative modes will both be getting multiplayer love, although the team has asked for players to help spot and report bugs during this testing cycle. The team did warn that these builds will start small: "Multiplayer in this iteration is still fairly early, so don't expect crazy furry parties just yet. With more time and more tech, the experience and player count will improve. As to what that count is, we still cannot say."
Halo: MCC patch tweaks matchmaking (again), up now
The latest patch for Halo: The Master Chief Collection is live now and focuses on matchmaking, UI, stability and other features, outlined by 343 Industries in summary form after the break. For matchmaking specifically, the patch promises to improve search success rates, reduce instances of the "Awaiting Privileges" error, more correctly determine player counts in each playlist, fix an issue where players appeared to be searching in the incorrect "find game" screen, and add a countdown sound effect to the voting timer. The update should improve the network performance of Halo 2: Anniversary, lower the music volume in multiplayer menus and fix stability issues across multiple games in both campaign and multiplayer. The Master Chief Collection has suffered from matchmaking issues since launch, prompting 343 Industries to dole out compensation in the form of a free month of Xbox Live for early adopters, plus a free 1080p, 60fps Halo 3: ODST campaign due in the spring, and a fresh nameplate and avatar. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Diablo III patches 2.1.2 and ends season one
There's a lot happening around the rainbow-and-glitter landscapes of Diablo III, although perhaps the biggest is the implementation of Patch 2.1.2 to the game. This patch adds in powerful ancient items, increases the drop rate for legendary items, and gives players more survivability with additional life and higher life-on-hit percentages. As Diablo III ushers in the patch, so it too prepares to say goodbye to the first season. The game is preparing to end season one and has posted a guide to aid players as they make the transition to the limbo that exists before season two. Season one is expected to end some time in early February, possibly February 3rd. Players on both the PC and consoles soon will enjoy an event full of boosts, including additional treasure goblins and higher drop rates. These boosts will begin tomorrow and continue through Friday, January 23rd.
Halo 4's Spartan Ops comes to Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection received another update this week, improving the game's matchmaking and other functions. The update also added Spartan Ops to Halo 4 in the collection, 343 Industries' cooperative multiplayer mode. Teams of up to four players barrel through missions in the episodic mode, which was purposely not included in the collection's initial 20 GB patch; the developer planned to issue Spartan Ops in December so that it could make "technical enhancements" to the mode. Spartan Ops features 10 episodes, all of which are now available in The Master Chief Collection. The update includes a number of other fixes for the collection, such as hit detection for online multiplayer in Halo: CE and also giving a loss to players that disconnect from matches before a round ends. The patch should also improve roster update times as well as statistic and achievement tracking. It's the latest in a line of updates for the game, which launched with severe online multiplayer issues, among other problems. 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross apologized to players for the collection's issues in late November, recently offering free goodies to affected players, including the Halo 3: ODST campaign. [Image: Microsoft]
Obtrusive ads, lackluster design limit Bear Hunt's potential
Bear Hunt is a simple time killer in which you're given a slingshot to target bears nearby in the forest. As they walk by or potentially attack, pull the sling back to hit them with a boulder. The game features a few modes like classic and time race, plus online multiplayer. The goal is to reach each level's target score and best it in the next level. It also has a few other tricks up its sleeve too like a secret rocket launcher. Bear Hunt is completely free and available for iPhone and iPad. I don't like to start off on a bad note, but in this case it's completely warranted. Just about everything with this game's design is cringeworthy. The animations and graphics are amateur, navigation is inconsistent and the number of pop-up ads is just shameful. It's even more frustrating tapping the "X" and accidentally tapping the ad and getting yanked out of the app. This seriously hinders the usability of the game and deserves attention. Moving along after that brief rant, let's get to the meat of Bear Hunt. Starting off in single player mode, you have Classic mode, Time Race and Practice to choose from. Classic starts out with just walking bears, but eventually the attack setting unlocks where they get a bit more aggressive. Regardless, you get one minute and 30 seconds to reach the target score. Achieve this by using your slingshot on the bears. The farther away the bear, the more points you score for hitting it. Hit the same bear up to three times to completely destroy it and gain points each time. In Time Race, the target score becomes not a matter of if you get there, but rather a matter of when. A stopwatch begins when you press Play and you have to race to reach your target score and beat the record each level in seconds and minutes. At any point a bunny might appear out of the ground for a few seconds. If you successfully take a shot at the bunny, your slingshot turns into a rocket launcher which automatically targets and destroys all bears within your field of vision for the next few shots or so, granting you the chance to quickly rack up points. Multiplayer mode uses a third-party service to set up matches between Facebook friends or other online players, but it doesn't always work and it's ultimately pretty forgettable. Bear Hunt doesn't have any in-app purchases, but wow for once do I absolutely wish there was. I can't make it through a single round without up to three ads appearing all at once. Even just a US$0.99 upgrade to get rid of the ads that haunt me once and for all would suffice. Fun to play in practice, but Bear Hunt lacks solid design and stability. I can't possibly overstate how annoying those ads are, too. You might get some enjoyment out of it if you need to kill a few minutes of time, but you won't miss out on much by passing up on this download. Bear Hunt is free for iOS in the App Store.
The Daily Grind: Would you have played a Diablo MMO?
A few weeks ago, Blizzard content designer Kevin Martens admitted that the studio once considered turning the Diablo IP loose on an MMORPG. It's off the table now, but it still got me wistful. I've been strangely attached to the Diablo franchise and its clones for a very long time. Seriously, it's not even possible to pry the Torchlight series or Titan Quest off my harddrive. But Diablo itself just has a compelling, gritty gloom to the world that would make an MMO version a welcome in a genre that's obsessed with bright and happy fantasy worlds. Massively's Brendan Drain once opined that Path of Exile is the sequel that Diablo II deserved, but is it MMO enough to count here? Would you have played a Diablo MMORPG, and what would you want it to look like? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WordHeist brings good design to uninspired word game
WordHeist is a multiplayer word game that encourages theft for your own personal gain. Using your own letter bank, create words with up to three other players. Then steal each other's letters to create your own words and protect yours from being stolen. When the timer runs out, whoever has the most words piled up wins. WordHeist has two modes and a practice mode as well to get started. It's free for iPhone and iPad with in-app purchases. This game heavily integrates Game Center because it doesn't include options to just play against a computer, which may prove to be a bit of a weakness. Upon selecting a game mode, you must choose two, three or four players for your game. Then Game Center takes over for you to select existing friends with the game to play against or get auto-matched with other online players. I had a hard time during my first few attempts to get matched with anyone, unfortunately because it doesn't seem like WordHeist has enough users playing at any given time to match with those who do want to play. That's why I mentioned that the lack of a versus computer mode is a con here because it would least ensures the ability to play whether someone else wants to or not. It was easier to start playing by choosing turn-based mode. The live game means two people have to play simultaneously, while turn-based means opponents can go offline and play their turn whenever they're ready as can you. As soon as I started playing, WordHeist felt a bit familiar. Select letters from a pool to create words, guard the words you use from being stolen and steal from the others to ultimately win the game. Where have I heard of this before? Oh that's right, it's a very similar concept to the one WordXchange deploys, a game we reviewed on TUAW in October. It does have its differences but for the most part, WordHeist reminds me of a cross between WordXchange and the more conspicuous Letterpress game. More often than not it's not necessarily a negative to make comparisons, but in this case WordHeist does lose some originality points that I was seeking in a new word game. The design of the app is definitely more on par with Letterpress though, so that's one plus worth mentioning. The game includes an in-app purchase option for WordHeist Pro. Upgrading removes ads, unlocks access to "future tournaments" and explains that by purchasing you are supporting the development of the game, i.e. its developers. WordHeist Pro costs US$1.99. WordHeist overall is fun, but a tad forgettable. It pains me to say that because I love word games and society could probably benefit from playing them a bit more often, but it's too similar to other word games already in the App Store. It lacks drawing power on its own, which is clear by the paltry amount of players typically online. Free with in-app purchases, get WordHeist for iOS in the App Store.
Titanfall update brings co-op to Xbox 360 next week
The Xbox 360 version of Titanfall will receive update number eight next Monday, December 1, Respawn Entertainment announced. The update adds Frontier Defense to the game, Titanfall's cooperative multiplayer mode that arrived on PC and Xbox One just over one month ago. Frontier Defense puts a team of four players in charge of defending a "vital objective" from waves of enemies, which increase in difficulty with each mob. Like the update last month, next week's patch also introduces ranked online play to the first-person shooter, which features Rank Chips that act as "expensive pedometers," measuring players' activity in Titanfall and occasionally doling out rewards. Rank Chips can be turned off at any point, so the ranked play system isn't map-specific. The update also adds new Titan insignias and a full-screen mini-map option to the game. [Image: EA Games]
Halo: MCC re-adds Halo 2: Anniversary Rumble playlist
The Halo 2: Anniversary Rumble playlist is live in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, after 343 Industries stripped it out on November 14 to help ease matchmaking issues. Still, the playlist isn't finalized – it currently allows up to 10 players and doesn't feature ranking, and 343 says it will continue tweaking the playlist to eventually support up to eight players with ranked play. "Once we've ironed out existing matchmaking issues," 343 writes. Matchmaking continues to be problematic in The Master Chief Collection, and even before the game's launch on November 11, 343 had to make changes to the announced lineup of playlists. Our review noted that matchmaking was "barely functioning." On November 20, 343 released a patch aiming to fix many matchmaking issues. [Image: Microsoft]
Just Cause 3 won't launch with multiplayer, but Square Enix says it 'does make a lot of sense'
The recently-announced Just Cause 3 will not feature multiplayer capability when it launches in 2015, but developer Avalanche Studios and publisher Square Enix are being coy about the mode being patched in down the road. In an interview with Game Informer, Avalanche CCO and co-founder Christofer Sundberg said that although the team was focusing on the single-player content for now, they would consider it "maybe sometime down the line." Taken on its own, that statement doesn't seem too encouraging. However, Shinra Technologies - a subsidiary of Square Enix that aims to pioneer cloud-based gaming technology - has several key personnel sharing Avalanche Studios' office space. Jacob Navok, senior vice president of business for Shinra, told Game Informer he and his staff were working on a "possible future collaboration" with Avalanche. "What we see in the near future are cloud games that are developed from the ground up as well as games that are in an existing pipeline that we will enhance," Navok said before presenting an oddly-specific hypothetical situation. "For example, taking a game that doesn't have multiplayer right now and easily giving it multiplayer is what we imagine for enhancements." When Game Informer asked Navok if Just Cause 3 could or would be that game, Navok responded, "I think it does make a lot of sense." [Image: Square Enix]
Super Smash Bros. 3DS patch nerfs Rosalina, hitstun cancels
CLASH Tournaments has released a detailed breakdown of the changes introduced in this week's Version 1.0.4 patch for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, revealing a host of balance changes and tweaks affecting several characters. Notably, the respawn time for Rosalina's partner character Luma has increased from 8 seconds to roughly 13 seconds, putting Rosalina in greater peril when Luma is knocked out. Peach, Link, and Toon Link no longer have toss canceling abilities, and Diddy Kong and Mega Man are now unable to cancel out of a stunned state by using specific moves. The patch additionally blocks playback of replays recorded using earlier versions of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Other listed tweaks affect Falco, Greninja, Yoshi, and Mr. Game and Watch. Shoryuken details all of the discussed changes here. Our review of the upcoming Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. went live today, and we'll have a final score once online play activates. [Image: Nintendo]
The Daily Grind: Should EVE Online add manual flight controls?
On Friday, developer CCP Games stunned us with the news that EVE Online will be adding manual flight controls in December's Rhea update. Gamers have been asking for twitch controls since EVE launched in 2003, but the idea has always been shot down as infeasible because it would put the server under extremely heavy load. CCP mentioned its interest in twitch controls during Fanfest 2013, and I speculated on a possible server-friendly implementation in an EVE Evolved article shortly after, but the fact that the feature is about to be released still comes as a huge surprise. The new controls will be optional and quite limited. Ships will be able to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise and pitch their ships up vertically up and down, but we won't be able to do loops or rolls like in a dogfighting game. Developers also want to add joystick support soon, but so far there are no plans to add manually targeted ship weapons. Many players are excited for the new controls, and some of them are already asking for further features like the ability to lock the camera behind their ships for a more hands-on flight experience. The announcement has prompted debate in the EVE Online community, and not everyone is convinced it's a good idea. Some have complained that twitch controls don't suit EVE as the ships are supposed to be massive starships with full crews rather than single-pilot fighter craft. There's also some cynicism over whether the feature is only being worked on now due to the growing popularity of Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous. EVE could be positioning itself as a viable alternative for any players who are disappointed with the new space games, a strategy that has worked in the past to help it absorb players from games like Earth & Beyond and Star Wars Galaxies. What do you think? Should EVE add manual flight controls, and is this an attempt to appeal to the mass market? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
FIFA 15 among games blocking PS4 Share Play in US
Users are reporting a number of issues with using the PS4's Share Play feature, Sony's online pass-the-controller multiplayer service. Namely, it appears FIFA 15 is giving players fits, as visiting players are unable to view the footage shown on the host's console. Rather, one half of the Share Play tandem sees the screen above, which says, "Viewing the game screen that the host is currently playing is not allowed due to content restrictions in your country or region." In our tests between two US-based PS4 players this morning, the Share Play visitor was unable to view game footage on four separate occasions: In FIFA 15, WWE 2K15, Guacamelee and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Share Play for FIFA 15 was functional once we tested the service with our UK-based editor, Sinan Kubba (albeit with some bouts of lowered resolution and frame-dropping). However, it appears the error message being displayed is entirely inaccurate, as PlayStation noted on Twitter, adding that the support team is investigating the issues. Eurogamer's big list of Share Play-functioning games notes that FIFA 15 "works fine," so your mileage (or kilometer-age in this case) may vary at the moment. Share Play arrived in October as part of the PS4's version 2.0 update, which itself caused a number of other issues for players. Sony issued another update just this week, version 2.02, to rectify some of the console's lingering problems. We've reached out to Sony to find out what might be causing the hiccups with Share Play and which games are affected.
Halo MCC playlists tweaked prior to launch, Halo CE playlist delayed
343 Industries has updated its launch-day multiplayer matchmaking playlists for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, introducing a number of last-minute tweaks to its previously announced lineup. Halo: The Master Chief Collection will debut this week with the series-spanning Team Slayer, the eSports-focused Halo Championship Series, 4v4 Halo Team Anniversary, tournament-ready Team Hardcore, and 16-player Big Team Battle, among other featured playlists. 343 notes that it has delayed the launch of a dedicated Halo: Combat Evolved playlist, and will reconfigure it to focus on 2v2 matches in response to player feedback. Halo: The Master Chief Collection premieres on November 11. [Image: 343 Industries]
Diablo was once considered for an MMO, but no longer
In many ways Diablo III seemed like the sort of game that would lead naturally into an MMO for the franchise. The online functionality is there, the options are there, and it's not as if Blizzard's big MMO didn't derive quite a bit from the framework of Diablo II, after all. But according to content designer Kevin Martens, there are no current plans to take the franchise into an MMO space, even though there were plans to do exactly that not too long ago. The original thinking was that Diablo III would be the sort of game that could evolve its setting to a point where an MMO felt organic, natural, and appropriate. However, a shift in corporate culture and overall development focus cut those plans short before they went much further than discussion. Seeing how players enjoy Diablo III and what they like about the game has resulted in a shift in focus with more future content for the game... but no MMO exploration.
BlizzCon 2014: Diablo III previews Season 2
BlizzCon attendees and remote viewers got a first look at Season 2 for Diablo III, and now it's your turn to do so as well. The second season, which starts public realm testing "soon," will add new and beefed-up legendary items, a trio of new conquests, and boots and pants for the level 70 Conqueror's transmorgrification set for those willing to reroll a character. Blizzard also announced a new batch of earnable rewards: "Players who participate in the season will also receive an exclusive full banner set, including shape, pattern, sigil, and accent. Each piece of this set is unlocked by acquiring seasonal achievement points." Like Season 1, Season 2 will not be coming to consoles due to their occasionally offline nature.
Blizzard's next game is 'Overwatch,' an online superhero shooter
Blizzard is breaking out of its role-playing and strategy niches in a big, big way. The game developer has just unveiled Overwatch, a superhero-focused, team-based multiplayer shooter. Details of how it works are scarce, but it's definitely more lighthearted than the likes of Diablo. Think of it as a cross between Team Fortress 2 and The Incredibles, with an added emphasis on high-tech weaponry. Blizzard isn't talking release dates or platforms, but a release is "nearer than you think." BlizzCon attendees will try an early version of Overwatch, and a beta test is due in 2015 -- unlike Titan, there's a good chance you'll get to play this yourself. Itching for just a little more? Peep the BlizzCon trailer after the break!
Red Faction: Guerrilla opens Steamworks public beta
Red Faction: Guerrilla is the latest game to completely shed its Games for Windows Live coat, and will now begin testing full Steam support features, Nordic Games announced. The publisher invited players to participate in a public beta of the game's new Steam-based functionality, which includes matchmaking and multiplayer support via Steamworks. The game's public beta will also feature leaderboards, voice chat and achievements via Valve's PC gaming service. Those interested in participating in the beta are instructed to follow this guide, selecting Red Faction: Guerrilla in step one and using the password "nordicrfgbeta" and the beta branch "publicbeta." First launching in 2009, Red Faction: Guerrilla was part of the $4.9 million set of intellectual properties purchased by Nordic Games in THQ's liquidation auction in April 2013, seeing itself as a "middle man" for potential sequels in its new series. The publisher told Joystiq at Gamescom in August that it's "not the right time" for Red Faction: Guerrilla 2. [Image: Nordic Games]
