A decade ago, at a community day for Dead Space, I stumbled upon an accidental scoop. I was checking in at the front desk of Electronic Arts’ Redwood Shores headquarters with a few marketing folks guiding me along. “Oh,” said the receptionist offhandedly, “are you here for The Ripper?” I’ve never seen someone in marketing turn so white so fast. My guides stammered something to the receptionist to get him to shut up, and hustled me away from the desk. In the elevator going up to the studio, I couldn’t help but turn to them and ask what that was all about, and they pleaded with me not to mention anything. No one was supposed to know about this top-secret project, and they were terrified I would blab. I assume the receptionist got a good talking-to. Later that night, over many drinks, I got some of the story out of people, under a promise to keep silent on the project until it was closer to release. As I guessed from the name, EA was working on a … [Read more...] about The Ripper: The disturbing Visceral Games project that never was
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Call of Duty WW2 War Machine review
Call of Duty WW2 sold well and was reasonably well-designed, but the long-anticipated return of the 1940s European theatre didn’t have the impact most players hoped for after Infinite Warfare’s disappointing launch. Sledgehammer Games created a by-the-numbers solo campaign, a solid multiplayer mode with a reduced map count, and a Zombies mode that’s visually stunning but lacks staying power. WW2 wasn’t a return to form, but a reminder that we’ve been getting a somewhat generic Call of Duty experience every year for a decade. Within the player community, however? That perception is slowly changing for the better. Instead of just dropping some DLC packs and hoping Treyarch does better this year, Sledgehammer has listened to fans and made some massive improvements via post-launch content: patches included extensive gameplay and menu UI overhauls; the multiplayer mode has hosted three major, well-received community events; and Sledgehammer even remastered two … [Read more...] about Call of Duty WW2 War Machine review