will feature a multiplayer mode called Gardens and Graveyards that's been based off Battlefield's Rush and Conquest modes, Popcap Games has announced.
The 24-player multiplayer mode will also include a hint of the series' traditional tower defence gameplay. Gardens and Graveyards will feature the zombie team attempt to capture bases on the map, with the plants team trying to put a stop to the undead advance. If a base is captured by the zombies, the area will turn into a graveyard and the plants team will have to retreat to the next location.
Popcap is making the game in the Frostbite 3 engine, and the class-based shooter will also feature a four-player co-op alongside its competitive multiplayer.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare will be released for Xbox One and Xbox 360 on February 18, 2014.
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: DICE
Despite a stumbling start on next-generation consoles where the fan response to full-blown 64-player online modes overwhelmed EAÄ‚Ë€â„Ës servers and developers alike, you canÄ‚Ë€â„Ët find a better shooter in 2013—certainly not on PC. DICEÄ‚Ë€â„Ës Frostbite 3 engine will put any graphics card through its paces, but a gripping single-player campaign and inspired Levolution mechanics keep the franchise feeling fresh even after the lengthy journey players had with Battlefield 3Ä‚Ë€â„Ës Premium DLC.
As Ghost Games' debut racer, Need for Speed: Rivals is a curious beast - a game of highway tag that replicates the handling of Criterion's efforts to an uncanny degree, despite the move to the Frostbite 3 engine. This isn't our first look at the game of course - we were lucky enough to gain extended access to Rivals during EA's recent multiplayer press event, but the PC version was nowhere to be seen. Regardless, during our testing, we were surprised to see the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game delivering near like-for-like visuals too, albeit with more refined effects-work appearing on Sony's side. However, frame-pacing issues affected performance on both, and with promises of an imminent fix, a question mark lingers over the state of the final release - and how the end result stands up to PC.
Battlefield 4 has been released with a native resolution of 900p on PS4 and 720p on Xbox One (both upscaled to 1080p), but DICEs Frostbite Technical Director Johan Andersson does not regret the choice, since it allowed the developer to keep the games experience similar to the one on PC, with 60 frames per second and 64 players.
He also mentioned that next generation consoles have a lot of untapped potential still.
"Perhaps most disappointing of all is the actual world. The map consists of long wending noodles of road draped over Frostbite landscapes. Its built for you to drive fast and bang into cars, so it minimizes the concept of mastering a route or reacting to the road. Its all long, thin, shallow. This means theres little sense of place. There is minimal traffic. There are too few opportunities to actually turn onto another road or take a shortcut. The world even feels small. Youll be chasing someone, or running from someone, and suddenly youre back where you were just a little while ago. It all feels so constrained."
Let’s start with the good stuff. The game looks great. Rivals' day/night cycle has amazing detail thanks to the Frostbite 3 engine’s lighting effects. The dynamic weather is incredible: rain pounds down naturally, leaves blow up as you drive past, and small pockets of dust clouds blow by as you head into the more rural landscapes.
Sliding cars around the highways is a thrill, and Rivals does a good job of making both cop and racer experiences engaging. Except, that is, for the cop's lack of risk. As a racer, the longer you stay on the road, the higher your ‘Heat’ level,...
