GAMINGOnline
Gearboxenjoyeda massive
successwithBorderlandsandits
sequel,butit’s fairtosaythat,
outsidethatfranchise,thestudio
hasn’t enjoyedquitethesame
levelofpraise– youonlyhaveto
lookatthereviewsofthesorely
disappointingAliens:Colonial
MarinesorDukeNukemForever
torealisethat.
WithBattleborn,however,
Gearboxhopestoreturn to
thekindofformthatmade
Borderlandssucha hit.The
studiohassaidinthepastthat
it’s themostambitiousgameit’s
undertakensofar– a first-person
sci-fishooterwithelementsfrom
thefashionableMOBAgenre.
There’llbea totalof 25 characters
tochoosefrom,eachonewildly
differentfromthelast.When
Battlebornhelda closedbetatest
backinOctober2015,players
reporteda fewmatchmakingand
balancingissues– onecharacter
inparticular, thesword-wielding
Phoebe,wasflaggedupasbeing
a bittoopowerfulforcomfort.
Butbetatesting’s designedto
winkleoutjustthesekindsof
balancingissues,ofcourse,and
withthegamenotdueforlaunch
until3rd May, there’s stillplenty
oftimeforsuchthingstobe
ironedout.
Battleborn’sbigrivalcomes
froma worryinglyformidable
forceinonlinegaming:it’s
Blizzard anditspotentially
hugeentryintotheshooter
space,Overwatch.While
BattlebornandOverwatch
haveplentytodistinguish
them–Overwatchisa six-
on-sixsquadshooterwith
noDeathmatchmode,while
oneofBattleborn’sbigdraws
islikelytobeitscompetitive
MeltDownarenamode–
Overwatchhasa considerable
amountofmarketingweight
behindit.LikeBattleborn,
Overwatchisa sci-fishooter
witha colourfulandeclectic
rangeofcharacterstochoose
from– theseincludean
armour-cladscientistgorilla
namedWinstonanda black-
robed,dual-pistol-wielding
mercenarycalledReaper.
Again,likeBattleborn,
Overwatchwillbeavailable
fora one-timepayment
ratherthanfree-to-play.
ButneitherGearboxnor
Blizzard haveannouncedhow
they’llmonetisetheirgames
post-launch;willtheytryto
introducemicrotransactions,
asthemakersofPayday 2
controversiallyattemptedtoin
late2015?It wasannouncedinDecember
thatOverwatchwouldfeature
freeDLCcharactersand
maps,butgamedirectorJeff
Kaplanrefusestobedrawnon
“additionalmonetisation”.
"We haven'tlockedinexactly
whetherthere'llbeadditional
monetisationafterlaunchor
not,"KaplantoldEurogamer.
"Someofthatis becausewe
wanttowatchthelaunchitself
andseehowsuccessfulthatis,
andseewhatsortofplayerbase
weendupwithandseehow
engagedtheyare."
Gearboxhasn’t discussedthe
topicsofar, butit’s safetosay
thatmicrotransactionsare a
sensitivesubjectamonggamers.
ExactlyhowBlizzard andGearbox
decidetofundtheirgamesafter
launchcouldprovedecisivewhen
it comestotheirlong-termfuture.Incoming
Awayfromallthebig,expensive
gamesof2016,theindietitle
we’re lookingforward toisThe
WitnessbyJonathanBlow. Hisis
themindbehindtheplatform-
puzzlerclassic,Braid– andif
you’veplayedthat,you’llknow
howadeptheis atbreathingnew
lifeintoanaginggenre.
Likea crossbetweenMystand
Croteam’s excellentThe Talos
Principle,The Witnessis a first-
personjauntarounda seemingly
desertedislandfullofinterlocking
puzzles,accessedbyviasmall,
innocent-lookingpanelswith2D
mazesonthefrontofit.Solving
themwillleadtheplayertoother,
trickierpuzzles,whichgradually
revealmore oftheisland’s secrets.
The Witnesscouldbeanother
classic,andis worthcheckingout
from26thJanuary.iGearboxSoftwareare hopingto replicatethe successof the Borderlands
serieswithBattleborn,its newfirst-personshooter
iIt mayonlybe JonathanBlow’s secondgame,but the brillianceof Braidmeans
we’regenuinelylookingforwardto his newpuzzleadventure,The WitnessiFromthe ashesof ProjectTitan comesOverwatch,Blizzard’s expensive-
lookingsci-fishooter. A potentialTeam Fortress2 beater?Quitepossibly