Morning DLC: Video Game News & Rumors 2/25/2016
By Jason Prott
"The “more brutal take” on Fallout 4 “upends many of the rules of life in the Commonwealth for maximum challenge,” according to a post published on the game’s subreddit today. For starters, the new Survival Mode difficulty disables quick saves and fast travel; requires players to monitor their hydration, hunger and fatigue; and will force players to be more considerate about how much stuff they’re carrying."
Bethesda previously announced that survival mode would be receiving a “complete overhaul”, and this leak lives up to that phrase. Of the list of changes, the removal of fast travel looks to be the most impactful modification. I played Skyrim using the Requiem mod, which made many hardcore changes, but the one I found to have the biggest impact on gameplay was the removal of fast travel. When you can’t magically teleport to locations planning becomes a necessity and running out of resources is a real threat. I’ll be looking to try out this reworked difficulty when it’s eventually released.
"Ubisoft said earlier this month that the PC edition of The Division has not been “held back” by the technical limitations of consoles. “The PC version of The Division was developed from the ground up and we’re confident players will enjoy the game and the features this version has to offer,” a rep said at the time."
Whether The Division will be a success come March 8 is still anyone’s guess, I briefly played the open beta on Xbox One last weekend and walked away with a solid “meh”. I’m not sure if it will be fun killing hundreds of punks in the street, but I know I’ll look good doing it. This new PC trailer further demonstrates that The Division is a technically beautiful game. See for yourself below or by watching the video here.
"The New Xbox One Experience, which released last year, made it possible for Microsoft’s console to run Windows 10 apps. Now, it looks like it will be getting those applications soon. The news was reportedly confirmed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at a Madrid event in front of thousands of developers (via Windows Central)."
Microsoft has been using Windows 10 and Xbox One to strengthen the value of their ecosystem, but creating spreadsheets is the last thing I want to do on my gaming console. Xbox One is supposed to be gaining mouse and keyboard support in the near future, so at least you won’t have to use a chatpad to manage your budget. Sarcasm aside, there are plenty of other apps that will feel at home in the living room.