Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has been attacked by angry fans of the game after the Season 02: Lone Wolves update of the game had recently released. The studio made controversial changes to the game that has affected enjoyment for the already shrinking playerbase. One of which recently, was the removal of the “glitch” weapon, the “tank gun”, which was found in the campaign section of the game. The Tank gun was a popular, overpowered gun that the player could find that would shoot Scorpion tank shells. It was often used in speedruns, legendary difficulty runs, LASO runs and for fun in general. Using it made the campaigns boss fights rather trivial as it was so powerful.

Due the the public outcry about the change in the latest update, 343 Industries has decided that they will be adding the gun back in the upcoming Season 2 patch. This is just one of the changes announced about the reversal of changes by the community manager of 343 Industries, John Junyszek.

Since the launch of #HaloLoneWolves we've been sifting through your feedback – and we've got an update on the way to address some of the most common topics. For more info on weapon "jamming," skill jumps, and more, check our post on Halo Waypoint.

🎮 https://t.co/H2KOhF58U5 pic.twitter.com/giJE7if1dW

— Halo (@Halo) May 13, 2022

The tank gun was thought to be a nod back to the Scarab Gun easter egg found in Halo 2 and Halo 2: Anniversary, which was a well-known feature of the games. The tank gun however, was supposedly not intended to be included in the release version of the game, which is why it was dubbed a glitch.

It was an invisible object, with no name, placed on top of the far railgun of the crashed ship, on the mission Outpost Tremonius. While in the players hand, it remains invisible and affects the use of the players abilities like vaulting over walls, attacking with melee and using certain equipment. However, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, you can and will absolutely destroy enemies and send them flying using this gun. It took players less than a month into the games release to find it, and quickly became well-received.

343 Industries claim that they are actively listening to feedback and taking it seriously. It is hoped by the players of Infinite, that the developers will continue doing this as to prevent such contentious changes again in the future. The developers have previously mentioned Halo Infinite being part of a 10 year plan of the Halo games universe, so it is in their best interest to keep spirits high to retain loyal players, while trying to draw in new players.

Do you have any thoughts about this? Share with us below!

Also check out our other article about the potential future update content of Halo Infinite!

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The post Halo Infinite – The Tank gun is coming back! first appeared on Get2Gaming.

There are a number of recent and upcoming games that use various cultures and mythologies to drive their stories. This series aims to explore the relationship between a game and its surrounding mythology and how this shapes its characters. Today, we look at the game Ghostwire Tokyo and its use of Japanese folklore and mythology. 

Ghostwire Tokyo: Cats and Dogs

Ghostwire Tokyo was released 25th March 2022. In the game, Tokyo’s civilians have all disappeared and Yokai, spirits or demons, have invaded the city. You play as Akito, a civilian who survives after being possessed by a demon, KK. Akito and KK must work together, clearing the city of demons and returning Tokyo to the living.

When Ghostwire Tokyo was announced in 2019, one of the major concerns people had was whether or not you could pet the stray dogs. The following year, Tango Gameworks and Bethesda announced that yes, you could pet the dogs. Just before the game’s release, it received more attention for its inclusion of “Yokai Cats Running a Bodega“. Clearly then, the developers knew what the internet wanted. So great is the internet’s love of pets, however, that fans were let down when it was revealed you couldn’t feed the cats, stray or otherwise. Since then the game has received mixed reviews, with people commending its detailed environment design but limited gameplay choices. Coincidence, I think not. Regardless, the publicity surrounding the cats highlights how society today views them as solely pets and is desperate to give them love and attention. However, this wasn’t always the case.

Nekomata 

The Yokai Cats seen in Ghostwire are known as Nekomata. In Japanese folklore, these spirits are cats that have lived for so long that they have acquired both spiritual powers and a second tail. But in the game…they run bodegas. In fact, Nekomata were originally seen in Chinese folklore and were said to be cats that lived in the mountains, with a taste for human flesh. These stories were one of a number of things that were adopted from Chinese culture into Japan. These cats were seen as wild, monstrous beasts that would kill and eat helpless civilians. But in the game…they run bodegas. Gradually, during the Edo period – as cities became more populated – the Nekomata were also said to come from domestic cats that reached old age. Nevertheless, the Nekomata still retained their malevolent tendencies, with the ability to raise and control the dead, cause fires and kill people. But in the ga- you get the idea.

Ghostwire Tokyo‘s Relationship with the Past and Present

Ghostwire Tokyo blends both past and present throughout its game. In this Wired article, the game’s creators remarked upon the juxtaposition between the “old shrines” of Tokyo and its modern skyscrapers and how “the past and modern technology intertwine to give the city its identity”. This idea has been prevalent in the discussion of Japan’s identity as a whole – with some bemoaning Japan’s technical extraordinary progression while seemingly abandoning its Shinto past. One of Japan’s most famous exports, Godzilla, is seen as this battle between nature and technology.

But beyond Ghostwire‘s environment design, the game brings this relationship of past and present into its character design as well. The city is peppered with Yurei, ghosts, who were once overworked civilians and now haunt the city, dressed in their business-suits and carrying umbrellas. Ghosts of teenagers and schoolchildren, once addled by anxiety and the stresses of the future, now haunt the streets headless. Their school uniforms being used to identify them instead. The developers at Tango Gameworks have updated the Yurei folklore of the past to reflect the present. Although the city is seemingly abandoned by the living, the Yurei are dressed as civilians who you would expect to see walking down the street – with the same problems that any civilian today faces. Through this, the developers are further intertwining the living and the dead, the past and the present.

But what does this have to do with cats? Well, the developers do the same thing with the Nekomata. The character design serves to reflect today’s culture. In Japanese culture, cats have gone from being monstrous beasts, from being necromancers and evil spirits to bearers of good luck, to Hello Kitty and now to cute Bodega owners. As Hiroko Yoda – an author on Yokai and consultant on Ghostwire – says “They shape-shift to suit the times. They can be cute. They can be scary. They can be helpful. They can be whatever you need for the purpose.”

The Yokai and Yurei of Ghostwire Tokyo are updated to reflect modern society. They examine the problems of technology, anxiety, stress and everything that encompasses modern day life. And through this reflection they allow players to look at themselves and ask themselves where are they going?

Ghostwire Tokyo is available at Go2Games – on PlayStation and Steam.

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The post Mythology Corner: Ghostwire Tokyo first appeared on Get2Gaming.

With the buzz about Activision and its growing toxic reputation, a more exhaustive look at the gaming industry’s treatment of women is necessitated.

CEO of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, was also critical of Activision’s lacking response to the situation and their continued defence of CEO Bobby Kotick. However, change starts at home – and PlayStation is now facing accusations of the same problems.

Former IT security analyst, Emma Majo, has filed a lawsuit against Sony in California on Monday. The suit claims that the company is liable for discriminating against female employees and for wrongfully firing Majo after she spoke up about the discrimination within the company.

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that Sony has violated the United States’ Equal Pay Act. Female employees are not as well compensated financially and are often passed up for promotion in favour of promoting male employees. Majo even claims to have been ignored by a manager who only ever responded to men. She was continually passed over for promotions, which she claims is a common experience for female employees, and was fired after submitting a gender bias complaint to the company.

Majo notes that Sony claimed her termination was due to the closure of an internal department, but Majo never even worked in that department.

Sony representatives have yet to provide an official statement regarding these allegations.

Majo is also seeking court approval to extend the suit to a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all women who have worked for PlayStation in recent years.

Unfortunately, gender bias seems to be an ongoing issue in the gaming industry since its origins. As players and staff, women have often been made to feel less respected than their male counterparts. Having a feminine voice, I’ve endured my fair share of abuse in the online gaming sphere. And where voice chat is not involved, men assume every player is male until stated otherwise. It’s an exclusionary environment, and the problems with the player base are also reflected in the development sphere.

Only last year, Ubisoft was called out for similar issues. According to the organisation ‘ABetterUbisoft’, none of the staff demands for a better and more inclusive environment have been met. Will we ever see real change in the industry, or is it going to be this routine series of waiting for the controversy to blow over without enacting change?

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The post Former PlayStation Employee is suing for Gender Discrimination first appeared on Get2Gaming.

MMO New World’s aggregate user score has dropped from “mostly positive” to “mixed”

According to the review rating on Steam, a total of 61 percent of the reviews about New World in the last 30 days are positive. This means that one in three players are less than satisfied with the MMO’s recent changes.

A glance through the review page shows the many reasons why the game’s popularity is waning, but most seem to disagree with a change in the game’s “grind” economy, while others remain frustrated by the MMO’s bugs.

Players of the MMO took to Steam to voice their concerns. “I have 280+ hours in this game as of writing, I started day 2 or 3, basically as soon as launch day queues settled. I play on Utensia, a good middle-pop server (~1,000 players peak, no queues) with all factions viable. I level capped, have a high gear score watermark, am an officer of a PvP company that holds territory, and run all end-game content (war, invasions, raids, pvp arena.) I am at the end of the rainbow. There is no pot of gold. It’s just a buggy mess, unfulfilled promises, and devs too busy working to implement server transfers to actually fix the game.”

The post New World’s Steam rating drops to “mixed” as more fans leave more negative reviews first appeared on Get2Gaming.

All eyes are on Activision Blizzard since the publishing of an investigative report by the Wall Street Journal. The article directly implicated Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in perpetuating sexual misconduct during his tenure and suppressing calls to fire other top executives for doing the same.

Activision Blizzard staff have since held a virtual walkout for those still working from home, and in-person walkouts for those that are working at the Activision Blizzard offices.

The walkout was called by the ABK Worker’s Alliance hours after the report went public.

Activision Blizzard employees have also demanded for the immediate resignation of CEO Bobby Kotick. He has yet to concede.

Upper-level executives responded by holding a series of all-hands meetings with staff in order to boost worker’s morale. Staff were, however, unimpressed by the contents of the meeting.

Statements from staff members at the company have claimed that the meetings were nothing more than one-sided listening sessions with pre-screened questions with executives, and included a pre-recorded message from Mike Ibarra. Staff weren’t given any opportunity to voice their frustrations in the meeting, and I imagine it felt more like an indoctrination session than a ‘morale boosting’ affair.

Kotick did not speak during any of the meetings with Activision, Blizzard, or King employees. The board seems to have decided to continue their defense of Bobby Kotick and has made no actions to remove or even reprimand the CEO.

Rather than terminate Kotick from his role, Activision Blizzard seems to be hoping the situation will blow over.

Many of Activision’s shareholders, and big names in the industry such as the CEO of PlayStation (Jim Ryan), are showing solidarity with staff and those affected by calling out Activision’s inaction or joining staff in protest.

The attempts to win over their employees seem to have been maintained by Activision for a while now. They apparently gave employees a week off for Thanksgiving. However, obvious pandering and forcing staff to sit in on one-sided meetings isn’t going to do anything to erase the issues brought up by the ABK Workers Alliance.

No doubt, as this situation gains more public attention the staff and public alike will only be more frustrated with the company’s inaction.

Journalist Ben Fritz shared details in a Twitter thread.

Content warning for rape and assault:

A woman who worked at Call of Duty studio Sledgehammer said she was raped twice by her supervisor after she was pressured to drink heavily. She reported the incidents to HR, but the company took no action. pic.twitter.com/WcVBPTdJCK

— Ben Fritz (@benfritz) November 16, 2021

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A “sizeable amount” of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction’s post-launch content will be “completely free” and includes limited-time events

Ubisoft is adding quite some content to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction.

New challenges coming to the shooter include limited-time “game-changing” Crisis Events which either introduce a new Operator to your roster or a new Protean enemy. The first event – call Spillover – tasks players to wipe out mass colonies of an evolved version of the Sprawl. Successful players will get “exclusive” REACT Tech, new cosmetics, and new lore as a reward.

There are also  modes that offer different modifiers to “put players’ skills to the test” such as Veteran mode. This daring mode removes your HUD, limits ammo, and enables friendly fire.

Ubisoft says Maelstrom Protocol, a challenging endgame mode for the more seasoned players, “will be available at launch” and offers “a thrilling weekly challenge mode with tiered ranks” for the “most skilled Rainbow Six players”.

The post Rainbow Six Extraction will offer a “sizeable amount” of “completely free” post-launch content first appeared on Get2Gaming.

The driving simulator will gain several accessibility features

Playground Games, the studio behind Forza Horizon 5, are planning to add on-screen sign language interpreters who would appear in a picture-in-picture display during the game’s cutscenes. The feature won’t be available upon launch on November 9th, but Playground Games creative director Mike Brown wrote in a blog post on Xbox Wire that it would be “coming soon.”

“We’re constantly listening to the community to make Forza Horizon 5 an inclusive experience for everyone to enjoy,” On a blog post on Xbox Wire. “With this in mind, the team is excited to share we are also working on American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) support for cinematics in Forza Horizon 5.” He didn’t offer an exact release date for the feature.

Forza Horizon 5 will have several other accessibility features available, including a game speed modification setting to play at reduced speeds when playing off line, a high contrast mode, a color blindness mode, customizable subtitles, a screen reader narrator who reads aloud text, buttons, and other game elements, and the ability to disable moving backgrounds.

“We want everyone in the world to be able to experience our game, and with more than an estimated 400 million gamers with disabilities across the globe, it is vital that all players be able to tailor their gameplay in a way that works best for them,” Brown wrote.

Forza Horizon 5 launches November 9th on Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, and PC. Those who bought the Premium Edition or Premium Add-Ons Bundle got access to play the game starting November 5th.

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They will now launch during the company’s next fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2023

Ubisoft has delayed upcoming games The Division Heartland and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, which was previously scheduled for release during the current fiscal year.

Rocksmith+, which was last month delayed from its summer 2021 launch window to an unspecified date, has also been pushed to Ubisoft’s next fiscal year, the publisher said on Thursday.

Announced in May with no specific release date, Heartland is a free-to-play Division spin-off that is described as “a standalone experience” that will provide “an all new perspective on the universe in a new setting”.

Announced last September and originally scheduled for release in January 2021, Prince of Persia Sands of Time Remake has already been delayed on a couple of occasions.

Ubisoft’s chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet has said, “Prince of Persia is a beloved brand and we are taking the appropriate time to ensure that we are living up to players’ expectations,”

“As we said during Q1, testing phases for our free to play games are ongoing and inform our release plans. Testing of Heartland has provided great feedback and the team is committed to make the title engaging for a wide audience.”

This kind of pattern in which games are delayed are not uncommon from Ubisoft. For example Rainbow Six Extraction, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Watch Dogs: Legion were all delayed back in 2019, and then Extraction was delayed again. Far Cry 6 was pushed back prior to its release; Riders Republic, out today, also underwent various delays.

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A brand new DC Comics crossover skin, The Batman Who Laughs, comes to Fortnite with Halloween just around the corner

The “Batman Who Laughs” skin, perfect for the Halloween season, will remain available in the Fortnite store for a limited time.

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The post Fortnite Adds Batman Who Laughs Skin to Item Shop first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Ubisoft could possibly take inspiration from the Hitman franchise for the next Splinter Cell game

According to many sources, it has been reported that on October 19, Ubisoft has greenlit a new Splinter Cell game.

Also, according to GameBeat journalist Jeff Grubb, he had stated weeks before E3 2021 that, “Ubisoft had fans play the upcoming Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time Remake and something that had the appearance of a new Splinter Cell prototype”. He said: “The testers did not spend a lot of time with the possible Splinter Cell game. Ubisoft provided a vertical slice that was just a basic tutorial section. But this version of the game combined familiar Splinter Cell action with elements of the 2016 Hitman reboot.”

It’s not necessarily clear which studios have been granted to work on the new project, though two people with knowledge of Ubisoft’s plans told VGC that the new Splinter Cell was being led by a studio outside of its traditional Montreal base. The sequel will have to come at a time of which the company has considerably rebuilt its image, following a wave of discrimination and sexual harassment allegations that hit the company. Employee groups say that they are not truly satisfied with the level of action taken by Ubisoft to change the culture which perpetrates this kind of abuse.

In 2020, CEO Yves Guillemot said the Splinter Cell series needed to evolve before it could make a comeback.

“When you create a game, you have to make sure you will come with something that will be different enough from what you did before,” he said.

“The last time we did a Splinter Cell, we had lots of pressure from all the fans actually saying, ‘Don’t change it, don’t do this, don’t do that,’ so some of the teams were more anxious to work on the brand. […] Now there are some things and some people that are now looking at the brand, taking care of the brand,” Guillemot added, “so at one point you will see something, but I can’t say more than that.”

The new Splinter Cell title is in its early phases of production, and there’s a possibility of an announcement to come at some point next year.

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The post The new Splinter Cell ‘could have Hitman-like elements’ incorporated into its gameplay first appeared on Get2Gaming.