What we're playing this weekend: Skyrim Titanfall Edition
One mission in Watch Dogs 2 has you going after a parody of real-life pharma bro and self-stylized supervillain, Martin Shkreli. When it comes to video games and violence, DOOM designer John Romero says: "It's not the game, it's the gun. It's not the computer, it's the culture. It's not the player." And Wired explains why video game actors just went on strike.
What are you playing this weekend?
Russell Archey, Staff Writer, @NeoScyther
I'm still working through WWE 2K16's Career Mode, as I will be for the foreseeable future, as I'm slowly climbing the ranks for the Intercontinental Championship. I've also increased the difficulty because after a year-and-a-half in-game time, I've only lost 19 matches. So, I figured an increase in difficulty might be in order to help shake things up a bit. I also got a free upgrade to Skyrim–Special Edition on Steam due to owning the original game and all of the DLC, so I might be firing that up.
Sean Colleli, Staff Writer, @scolleli
I keep trying to get into DOOM's Snapmap level builder, especially now that they've added classic '90s DOOM modules and campaign support, but I just can't seem to get the hang of it. The interface—clearly designed for consoles—is just too obtuse, and the actual rooms and components just aren't flexible enough. The modules don't have enough connectors and seem to be biased against room-over-room design, so everything I make looks and feels the same. This is frustrating as I spent countless hours in the Timesplitters 3 Mapmaker back in the day, crafting some pretty crazy levels. Even with recent content additions, SnapMap just isn't dynamic enough.
So instead I'll be taking a break with Clockwork Empire. Hopefully some steampunk city building will alleviate the irritation of Snapmap's limitations.
Chapel Collins, Staff Writer, @ChapelCollins
I haven't been playing much of anything lately, but hopefully this weekend will change that due to two key things: Remastered Skyrim and Battlefield 1. I can't wait to try the mods on the Xbox One; I feel personally vindicated for my loyalty to the Xbox through this single game alone. Battlefield 1, as well, is seeming to be nothing short of incredible. It's everything I never knew I wanted in an online shooter.
Randy Kalista, Staff Writer, @randykalista
If the stars align, I'll be in the PlayStation's Skyrim–Special Edition. Which means I won't have access to the unfettered world of crazy-town mods on the Xbox One version. But I'm mostly okay with what'll show up mod-wise on PS4. I've never been big into mods. Sure, implementing a UI tweak here or a sensible gameplay tweak there is fine by me. But since I'm a joyless jerk, I wouldn't get more than five minutes' enjoyment out of Thomas the Tank Engine dragons or whatever. Sure, they're cute. But I like my video games about people with pointy ears and fireball spells to be a little more serious, I mean, c'mon.
Otherwise, I'm playing Abzu with my six-year-old. She likes it. In general, she's pretty good at navigating 3D environments, but adding a y-axis to your movement—it is underwater—takes some getting used to. I've played a few minutes and I have to admit that it moves a little weird. It gets prettier, darker, and stranger than the screenshots led me to believe.
Aidan Kelly, Staff Writer, akelly@gamingnexus.com
Last weekend was a train wreck. Although I picked up Battlefield 1 on release day I'm yet to play anything other than the first story missions; and other than the beta, I'm yet to get into a multiplayer match. Battlefield is my guilty pleasure and it's being withheld from me. I am an unhappy Irishman. I'm off this weekend, so either I play Battlefield 1 or I'll search for relief at the bottom of the pint glass, so help me Gaben. Let's pretend the Dark Souls III DLC is not being released this week.
Dan Keener, Senior A/V Writer, @zoboa
Although gaming time has been at a premium lately, I will be finishing up my review of Mantis Burn Racing (highly recommended) as well as diving back into Skyrim with the Remastered edition. Very eager to see the improved graphics and mod support on the Xbox One version.
Rob Larkin, Staff Writer, @Rob_GN
I'm so close to max light in Destiny I can taste it. Have a Wrath of the Machine raid set up for late Friday on hard mode that will edge me just up against the max. With good drops maybe even hit it. Otherwise I'll be starting over in Dark Souls III. I have the DLC for review but I didn't actually make it far enough to kick it off. So I'll be diving back in, fresh, hoping that a brand new run will get my skills honed for when I hit the wall I ran up against on the first go. Finally, I'll be doing more preview work Divinity: Original Sin II. The game is in early access and it's simply incredible so far. But at what will probably be 80 hours of gameplay, I'm trying to get a decent chunk in before I write anything up.
John Yan, Senior Hardware Editor, @TheJohnYan
Titanfall. 2.
