Titanfall 2 is coming on October 28th

EA’s E3 2016 Press Conference will start in three hours and it appears that the release date for Titanfall 2 has been leaked. EA hold a E3 pre show in which it revealed the single player trailer for Titanfall 2. And according to that trailer, Titanfall 2 will be released on October 28th.

Pirating Group 3DM Will Stop Cracking Single-player Games for One Year

Chinese software pirates 3DM have announced that the group will cease cracking single-player games for one year to see how it affects sales.According to TorrentFreak, 3DM’s leader “Bird Sister” made the announcement on her personal blog. “We just had an internal meeting. Starting at the Chinese New Year [February 8], 3DM will not crack any single-player games,” she wrote. “We’ll take a look at the situation in a year’s time to see if genuine sales have grown.”She also wrote, “Cracks by overseas warez groups will still get posted on the [3DM] forum, and we will actively deal with these,” but it’s not confirmed whether that means the group will ban other cracks on their forums.Last month, Bird Sister wrote that the new “Denuvo” digital rights management system used in games like Just Cause 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition was so sophisticated that she predicted “in two years time I’m afraid there will be no free games to play in the world.” Inquisition took the group about a month to crack, but Just Cause 3, which released last December, has still not been cracked.

Far Cry: Primal & Rise of the Tomb Raider Will Be Protected By The Denuvo Anti-Tamper Tech

As we had already predicted, more and more publishers are starting using the Denuvo anti-tamper solution. Ubisoft has revealed – via the game’s EULA – that Far Cry: Primal will be protected by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech, while Rise of the Tomb Raider was also spotted on Denuvo’s website.

Going into more details, Far Cry: Primal’s EULA clearly states that the game uses Denuvo:

“THE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE (“DRM SOFTWARE”) AND DENUVO ANTI-TAMPER PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY”

What’s really interesting here is that according to this EULA, some files of the Denuvo anti-tamper tech may remain on the PC even after the game’s uninstalled.

“CERTAIN FILES OF THE ANTI-TAMPER TECHNOLOGY  MAY REMAIN EVEN AFTER THE PRODUCT IS UNINSTALLED FROM YOUR COMPUTER. “

Regarding Rise of the Tomb Raider, its header image was spotted on Codefusion’s  tech support site. This domain is registered to Denuvo’s, Reinhard Blaukovitsch , in Salzburg, where Denuvo has its headquarters. Given also the fact that Square Enix’s latest title, Just Cause 3, used Denuvo, it’s safe to say that Rise of the Tomb Raider will also use it.

Rumour also has it that The Division will be also using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech, however its EULA does not reveal such a thing at this point.

Ubisoft’s For Honor Will Have A Single-Player Mode

For Honor seems like a really interesting new title that is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal. However, it appears that some players thought that this would a MP-only title. Well, that won’t be the case as Stephane Cardin, producer of For Honor, has confirmed that this new upcoming fast-paced, competitive game will feature a full single player mode.

As Stephane Cardin said:

“One of the big questions we receive in feedback is about the solo campaign. We said that we will have a solo campaign, and I can promise you that we will have a solo campaign. It’s one of the key subjects we are working on, on the floor. I can’t wait to show stuff to you guys, and we’ll do it as early as possible, like we did with the multiplayer.”

The concept of the game feels great, however it remains to be seen whether the single-player mode will force gamers to co-op with other gamers or the AI.

Denuvo Is Successfully Protecting Games, Pirated Games May No Longer Exist In Two Years

It appears that Denuvo is doing an extremely good job at combating video-games piracy. While its early versions were cracked by various pirate scene groups, its latest version – that has been used in Just Cause 3 – is driving all groups crazy. Despite the huge amount for a pirated version, the game has not been cracked yet, and 3DM is at the verge of simply abandoning its attempts at cracking it.

As 3DM’s forum founder ‘Bird Sister’ claimed, Just Cause 3 has driven its cracking guy crazy.

“Recently, many people have asked about cracks for ‘Just Cause 3?, so here is a centralized answer to this question. The last stage is too difficult and Jun [cracking guy] nearly gave up, but last Wednesday I encouraged him to continue.”

Bird Sister then claimed that pirated games may no longer exist in two years if more developers/publishers start using such anti-tamper technologies as Denuvo.

“I still believe that this game can be compromised. But according to current trends in the development of encryption technology, in two years time I’m afraid there will be no free games to play in the world.”

All in all, Denuvo seems to be doing an amazing job for developers/publishers. And no; Denuvo does not cause slowdowns. Batman: Arkham Knight was a mess and players should blame the team responsible for the PC version and not Denuvo. After all, both Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Mad Max run ridiculously amazing and they are protected by Denuvo.

Rumour: Next Assassin’s Creed Game Coming In 2017, Watch Dogs 2 Coming In 2016

Kotaku has leaked some interesting new information about the next Assassin’s Creed and Watch_Dogs games. According to Kotaku’s sources, Ubisoft will not release a Assassin’s Creed title in 2016. Instead, it is rumoured that the next Assassin’s Creed will be released in 2017. Not only that, but it is said that the sequel to Watch_Dogs will come out in 2016.

As Kotaku claimed:

“The next Assassin’s Creed, which we believe is set in ancient Egypt and code-named Empire, won’t launch until 2017, according to both a new online rumor and sources speaking to Kotaku. One person familiar with Ubisoft’s upcoming gaming plans told me this afternoon that the decision to delay Empire from fall 2016 was made after 2014’s disappointing Unity, and that this bump will allow the development team more room to improve and polish the game. “

In 4chan, someone claiming to be a Ubisoft developer claimed that the next AC game will be a complete revamp. Since this is 4chan where anyone can claim to be anyone, take the following with a lot of grain of salt.

“Egypt. There won’t be an AC in 2016. You may screencap this and refer to it when nothing is shown in E3 2016. You’ll have to wait until 2017 for it. The reason: It will be a complete revamp of the series. The game is going for a Witcher feel, with player progression, freeform combat system. Horse is back, and boats too. It’s made by the Black Flag team. You may leave any question you want answered.”

Kotaku claimed that Ubisoft may replace Assassin’s Creed with Watch_Dogs 2 in 2016. Watch_Dogs 2 is rumoured to be set San Francisco.

Review: Just Cause 3

It’s a crime that it’s taken nearly six years for a new Just Cause. Exploding (figuratively and literally) onto the scene in 2006, the series quickly came into its own with 2010’s Just Cause 2. Refining practically every issue with the first title, Just Cause 2 is a game that can be enjoyed for a indefinite amount of time. Sadly another last-gen sequel wasn’t meant to be and Square Enix instead waited two years into this console generation to once again unleash the madness. With most of developer Avalanche’s Sweden studio focusing on the development of Mad Max, their New York office took on the Just Cause 3 development and hired numerous ex-staffers of Criterion Games to round out the team and boy does it show. This is the most ridiculous, over the top Just Cause yet, designed solely around a single element: blowing $#^! up.Just Cause 3 takes place several years after the events of Just Cause 2, with protagonist Rico Rodriguez severing ties with The Agency and heading out to his homeland of Medici, a fictional archipelago that has been seized by the brutal dictator, General Di Ravello. The General has turned Medici into a military state, installing a sizable amount of military bases and oppressing its population wherever possible. Rico won’t stand for this, so he teams with past allies like Mario, Tom Sheldon, Dimah and more to overthrow the violent dictatorship. That’s about as deep as the story gets, with most of the interactions and cutscenes simply excuses to set up an absurd action climax, but that’s just fine. Just Cause has never been about story, but rather simply causing chaos, a conceit Just Cause 3 fully embraces.Just Cause 3 takes place in the giant open world of Medici, encompassing over 400 square miles. It’s ultimately up to the player on how to tackle it all, but there is a campaign comprised of main missions. Much like Grand Theft Auto, as fun as simply tooling around in the world is, these missions highlight everything great about the game and are set up for maximum destruction. Mission variety is high and all sorts of things are accomplished, but expect to do things like destroy giant convoys of pursuing military vehicles whilst standing on top of a speeding truck or taking out multiple targets whilst plummeting through the air after jumping out of a plane.

As enjoyable as the main missions are, practically everything else is a blast as well. One of the main side activities to accomplish is liberating enemy bases and towns. To accomplish this, Rico simply storms through the gates and (surprise, surprise) starts blowing up everything in site. Certain things must be blown up (like radars, satellite dishes, transformers, etc) and a certain amount of overall destruction must take place to liberate a military base. With so much to destroy and plenty of firepower and gas tankers standing by to do it, these moments are where some of the most ludicrous levels of destruction take place. It’s sometimes possible to destroy nearly the entirety of bases at once, conjuring enough fire to burn down the entire island. Towns are liberated more liberally, with the goal being to bring down all the propaganda including billboards, speaker systems, statues and more. Upon liberating either, vehicles and weapons are unlocked for Rebel Drops. These supply drops take the place of in-game currency and allow players to snag any weapon or vehicles at any time provided a beacon is available. Don’t think this makes things easier, however, as enemies match firepower (which can lead to some ridiculous firefights).Liberating oppressed towns and bases also unlock numerous challenges including Land/Air/Sea Races, Shooting Gallery, Destruction Frenzy, Crash the Bomb and more. These challenges are almost all a blast and thanks to the asynchronous multiplayer, leaderboards with best times are constantly displayed to compete against. These challenges are completed for more than just bragging rights, however, as they unlock Gears which can then in turn be used on Mods. Believe it or not, Mods make things even more outlandish as they unlock things like rocket-propelled planted explosives, a Spider-man-like Re-Reel ability, nitrous and much more. These can be toggled off after unlocking to keep things more realistic (ha), but some of these result in some moments of pure euphoria.A world so big is going to take multiple ways of traversal and thankfully Just Cause 3 has these in spades. When we’re talking about in-game vehicles, we’re not talking about mere tanks or cars. No, we’re talking about friggin’ cargo planes, assault choppers, bomber jets and naval destroyers. The scale of vehicles (or more accurately weapons of mass destruction) is large and allow matters to be taken to the land, air or sea. As great as it is island hopping in a jet, however, the wingsuit is the real star of the show. Ever since wingsuits broke through the mainstream several years ago, it’s been impossible not to be captivated by their gracefulness. After all, since the days of Copernicus, man has dreamed of flight and this is now possible in Just Cause. By utilizing the wingsuit, parachute and grappling hook, it’s possible for skilled pilots to fly around for minutes at a time and see everything the item has to offer. It’s a beautiful and freeing experience in a game so full of such wonted destruction and also an efficient means of transportation. For those who don’t feel like flying around for some reason, fast travel can be utilized to instantly arrive at destinations at the cost of a flare.

Closing Comments:
The adjective “ridiculous” has been used several times in this review as it’s the most apt available. Just Cause 3 is a ridiculous, over-the-top experience that wants so hard for you to blow it up. Playing around its 400 square miles, it’s almost as if the game can be heard yelling “OH MAN, THAT WAS SICK” in the background. It’s hard not to feel like a complete badass as you fly around the island dropping grenades and vaulting enemies into the air; in fact, you basically have super powers. There’s hardly an ounce of originality in Just Cause 3; it cribs its features from a myriad of different games before it (including racing games), but it positions everything primitively great about video games into a single explosive package. Horrendous loading times, a lack of synchronous multiplayer and optimization issues hold it back from pure bliss, but Just Cause 3 is an absolute blast, an experience equivalent to a shot of adrenaline straight into the heart.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed By: HardCoreGamer