2019-05-01+Official+PlayStation+Magazine+-+UK+Edition

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103

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arge-scaleconflicts
have always been
Battlefield’s bread
and butter. Nobody
gets it quite like
DICE, which is why we were
quietly hopeful about the
Firestorm mode that had
been on the horizon as an
update for Battlefield V for
some time.
The best thing about
Firestorm isn’t that it’s
battle royale, it’s that it’s
Battlefield. The polished feel
of the firefights you’ve come

tolovefromtheseries
translates right into the
mad dash to be the last
surviving squad within the
ring of fire. It also gives the
whole concept a lovely
sense of exaggerated
realism – parachuting in,
escaping an advancing wall
of fiery death. It’s a setup
thatisn’ta farcryfrom

scenariosyou’vetoyed with
in other modes. The scope
of the map means vehicles,
all in here straight away, are
more important than ever,
and they may prove to be
the mode’s distinguishing
hallmark. It’s a fine start
indeed, and if DICE can keep
it up, it will have been worth
thewaittogetit right.

live games THE MONTH IN...
NEW RELEASES

Ever since PlayerUnknown’s
BattleGrounds and Fortnite
stepped onto the scene,
battle royale has been the
hottest genre around. But
what will it take for this
unique format to have a
long,healthyfuture?

For the few
hot seconds
you could
spare in between lavish
and expensive Fortnite
events, it seemed that the
battle royale competition
was finally over. Epic’s
refinement of what PUBG
had popularised was a
sensation like no other. Was
it even worth other devs
trying? Cue Apex Legends,
whichlaunchedforfreewith
nexttonowarning.
But EA and
Respawn knew
what they
were doing. Rather than give
players time to find reason
to grouse about Apex, they
let them jump right in and
see how much fun it was for
themselves. Not to mention
they knew how to capture
attention by making sure
the right streamers were
playing it early. If it’s free,
surely you want to play
alongside your favourite
people you watch, right?
That’s the concern when
it comes to battle royale
as a side-mode. As good
as Firestorm may be, can
it light the fire in players’
hearts in the same way
when it’s locked behind the
Battlefield V entry gates?

@MrOscarTK

BAPTISTEOF FIRE
The 30th hero to join the ranks
of Overwatch is combat medic
Baptiste (or Jean-Baptiste
Augustin to you). Formerly of Talon
(essentially the bad guy unit), he
now uses his powers of healing
to help those affected by the
horrors of war. His assault rifle
packs a punch and can fire healing
projecticles. He also has a barrier
that powers up friendly projectiles,
and an immortality field.

BLOODMOON RISES
Crimson Curse, the first card
expansion to the free-to-play
Gwent, is here. It consists of over
100 cards for The Witcher spin-off,
and adds to the current factions
as well as containing neutral
cards. Themed around higher
vampire Dettlaff van der Eretein,
the set provides plenty of buffs for
monsters and vampires alike. The
new cards can be obtained in their
own kegs (basically booster packs).

DRAGONSEASON
We might be a few months from
the launch of The Elder Scrolls
Online’s Elsweyr expansion (see
p44 for our first impressions), but
the Season Of The Dragon starts
with the Wrathstone update. The
dungeon pack adds the Depths Of
Malatar and Frostvault, but most
importantly this 21st update sets
gears in motion for what’s to come
in Elsweyr. Preparation has already
begun! Are you ready?

Fire hazard


Battlefield V’s Firestorm lights up battle royale


THE BEST THING ABOUT
FIRESTORM ISN’T BATTLE ROYALE,
IT’S THAT IT’S BATTLEFIELD.

CHARACTER UPDATE UPDATE

UPDATE


LARGE-SCALE CONFLICT
You might think DICE is already an
expert at making battles feel like,
well, big battlefields. And it is.
But Halvøy, Firestorm’s peninsula
setting, is ten times the size of
Battlefield’s previous record.
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