Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

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Tuesday news, part two:

 

Casey Hudson says Mass Effect: Andromeda failure has 'refocused' BioWare
https://www.pcgamer.com/casey-hudson-says-mass-effect-andromeda-failure-has-refocused-bioware/
(...) general manager Casey Hudson has launched a "studio update" blog discussing "our vision for BioWare, what that means for our upcoming titles, and share some stories about development as we head towards the launch of Anthem."

 

Update: Blizzard is taking feedback about whether to change Hearthstone's bonkers Shudderwock combo
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstones-new-expansion-already-has-a-game-breaking-combo/
Update: Over the weekend, Hearthstone's senior designer took to the Battlenet forums and Twitter to confirm that the development team is mulling over what to do about the Shudderwock combo.
Since the early days of the expansion the combo has actually been a lot less common, as players worked out that the deck was incredibly weak to aggressive strategies like Odd Rogue or decks with high burst like Cubelock, so it isn't clear that a nerf is certain. In fact, according to HSReplay.net's data, Shaman is now the least represented class on the ladder, and the best Shudderwock deck only has a winrate of 42%. So is it still a problem? Not according to Kripp.

 

Free exploration game Marie's Room is like a bite of Edith Finch
https://www.pcgamer.com/free-exploration-game-maries-room-is-like-a-bite-of-edith-finch/
Marie's Room released on Steam last Friday and has garnered nearly 600 collectively 'overwhelmingly positive' reviews since. It's a free, first-person narrative game where you play as a woman named Kelsey and—you may have guessed—explore Marie's room.

 

Air-powered FPS brawler Sky Noon hosting a beta before coming to Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/air-powered-fps-brawler-sky-noon-hosting-a-beta-before-coming-to-steam/
Ahead of its upcoming Steam Early Access release, offbeat FPS brawler Sky Noon will hold a closed beta this week from 12 pm Pacific Thursday, April through 12 pm Monday, April 23. You can throw your hat into the first come, first serve key giveaway in the game's official Discord channel. Keys will be sent out on the first day of the beta.

 

Bully Hunters anti-harassment campaign shuts down as criticism mounts
https://www.pcgamer.com/bully-hunters-anti-harassment-campaign-shuts-down-as-criticism-mounts/
Bully Hunters was unveiled last week as a program aimed at combating the harassment and abuse of women in online games, a worthwhile idea that raised eyebrows with its methods. It was billed as a "vigilante in-game hit squad" made up of elite women gamers who would "beat bullies at their own game." Basically, players encountering abuse in CS:GO were encouraged to contact the Bully Hunters, who would then send one of their players to "infiltrate" the game and deliver righteous justice through a righteous ass-kicking.
Noble goal, dubious process, and unsurprisingly it all went about as wrong as it possibly could have.

 

Ubisoft may be hinting that Watch Dogs 3 is on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-may-be-hinting-that-watch-dogs-3-is-on-the-way/
The reasonable response to being told that Watch Dogs 3 is in development would be to say, "Of course it is." Watch Dogs is a major, well-known game series that's been reasonably successful for Ubisoft and, like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, has virtually boundless potential for more. But as PlayStationLifeStyle noted last week, a couple of more specific signs of dogs being watched recently came to light.

 

Killer plants rule the world in bullet hell roguelike Juicy Realm
https://www.pcgamer.com/killer-plants-rule-the-world-in-bullet-hell-roguelike-juicy-realm/
"As one of the first explorers of the newly discovered plant empire, you must continuously drive deeper and deeper into the enemy's lair," its Steam page reads. "Defeat bizarre and colorful fruits while retrieving new gear, weapons, and resources to defend yourself and expand your base camp. If you're unable to defeat the overwhelming destructive force of the plant army alone, invite a few friends to lend a hand and help you discover the secrets behind this strange new world."

 

PUBG's Savage map has a blue zone that adjusts its timing 'based on the number of players left'
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubgs-savage-map-has-a-blue-zone-that-adjusts-its-timing-based-on-the-number-of-players-left/
PUBG's Savage map just began its second round of player testing on experimental servers, and if you aren't planning on participating yourself, patch notes detail some of the changes that have occurred since the 4x4km map was first tested two weeks ago.

 

Fortnite is adding an LMG with a bipod
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-is-adding-a-fast-firing-high-capacity-lmg/
Fortnite's next battle royale weapon will be a fast-firing Light Machine Gun with a large magazine and a long reload time, Epic Games has announced. That sounds an awful lot like the minigun that's already in the game, which is great for tearing down buildings but not much else because of its massive bullet spread.

 

GTA Online gets new Italian Job-inspired police chase mode, complete with knock-off Minis
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-gets-new-italian-job-inspired-police-chase-mode-complete-with-knock-off-minis/
GTA Online's new mode is basically The Italian Job's famous car chase scene on repeat, and it sounds brilliant. In The Vespucci Job, two players jump into Weeny Issi Classics and weave through the back streets of Los Santos, while their two opponents try to blow their bloody doors off from pursuing cop cars.