We got our first glimpse at The Division 2 during Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference, but Ubisoft released a few interesting nuggets of its own during its press event. Most notably, the game will have raids and free DLC.
Raids will be be playable with up to eight people. Ubisoft didn’t go into much detail on these multiplayer events, but it’s obvious Ubisoft is taking cues from Destiny here.
In addition to raids, Ubisoft will keep up with the new industry trend of offering free DLC post-launch. Throughout the game’s first year on the market, players will receive three DLC packs, all of which will be free to all players. That’s in stark contrast to the first game, which had a paid season pass for its own trio of expansion packs.
The Division‘s DLC packs gradually made the already solid game better post-launch, so this new free model should keep even more fans engaged with the shared – shooter in the months following launch. Post-campaign character progression should also keep players hooked after finishing the main story.
While the first game’s snowy version of New York City was beautifully realized, the post-pandemic streets of Washington D.C., the setting of the sequel, are also quite a sight. The sequel takes place six months after the pandemic that wiped out a large percentage of humanity. That places it just a few months removed from the events of the first game. The cinematic trailer showed off the United States Capitol building and other well-known buildings. We also saw agents square off against armored enemies near the wreckage of Air Force One.
The gameplay shown suggests that enemies will have weak points that players can strategically target to inflict more damage. It also seems like environmental damage will come into play, allowing you to shoot through minor obstacles to eliminate enemies.
Ubisoft will hold a beta on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC ahead of the game’s 2019 launch. Dates for the beta have not been revealed, but if it follows a similar format as the beta for the first game, expect to play a handful of early story missions.
The Division 2 launches on March 15, 2019, on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.