Blog entry by Daryl Mault
If you're wondering what games were eligible to be nominated, the pool includes "any video game which was released, and made publicly available to consumers, during the year 2016, irrespective of platform or delivery medium, is eligible for nomination. Upgrades, expansions and mission packs are not eligible." All professional developers who are part of the International Choice Awards Network were eligible to provide nominati
INNOVATION AWARD The Witness (Thekla) Inside (Playdead) No Man’s Sky (Hello Games) Firewatch (Campo Santo / Panic) Pokemon Go (Niantic) Honorable Mentions: That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), SUPERHOT (SUPERHOT Team), Thumper (Drool), Quadrilateral Cowboy (Blendo Ga
The main highlight of the new patch is addition of the Horizon Lunar Colony . As the name suggests, this new map takes place on the moon, and is available to play in both quick play and competitive modes. This map was previously announced back in May with a trai
Discover brand new ways to play Overwatch in the Arcade. Choose from a variety of regularly rotating fps game weapons modes, maps, and rulesets that don't quite fit into Quick Play or Competitive Play. Whether it's 1-on-1 duels, 3-vs-3 skirmishes, our alternating selection of brawls, or special rulesets like "no hero switching," you should have no problem finding a game that fits your mood. Experience is earned just like any other mode, but you can also earn Arcade-specific rewards, like Loot Bo
BEST VR/AR GAME Rez Infinite (Monstars / Enhance Games) Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team) Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives (Owlchemy Labs) Pok é mon Go (Niantic) Fantastic Contraption (Radial Games / Northway Games) Honorable Mentions: Thumper (Drool), Superhypercube (Kokoromi / Polytron Corporation), Batman Arkham VR (Rocksteady Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), Space Pirate Trainer (I-Illusions), The Lab (Va
Bastion takes 35% less damage while in Configuration: Sentry or Tank
Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion's power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option, especially versus tanks and barriers. Overall, Bastion should feel stronger and more flexible with these chan
Allows players to adjust targeting sensitivity on Mercy’s Caduceus Staff beams
Developer Comments: Mercy’s Resurrect has always been very powerful, but it often forces her to sacrifice herself to use it well. There have been changes in the past that attempted to help her in this area, but haven’t done enough to solve it. This change means that once she uses the ability, she will always survive long enough to be with her team ag
Bundle up for a journey to Ecopoint: Antarctica, the former Overwatch installation where climatologist Mei-Ling Zhou was once stationed. While researching severe weather anomalies in the region, the station was hit by an intense polar storm. Running out of options and low on supplies, the team decided to cryogenically freeze themselves until the storm passed. They believed that it would only be for a few months, but Mei awoke nearly a decade la
Enemy shots no longer need to travel a minimum distance before they can be blocked
Developer Comments: Previously, there was a minimum distance a projectile had to travel before it could be destroyed by Defense Matrix. This made it nearly worthless in situations where an enemy was right next to your teammate, such as when Roadhog hooks your ally. This change removes that restriction so Defense Matrix should now reliably destroy projectiles regardless of how far they have trave
The awards ceremony will be hosted once more by Double Fine Productions Founder Tim Schafer, and will as usual be paired with the Independent Games Festival Award. Both will be aired on Twitch for everyone to
BEST TECHNOLOGY Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts) No Man’s Sky (Hello Games) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (The
Gaming funds have dropped for me, but that's actually not a bad thing as I'll be able to clean up some of my backlog. Being the Naughty Dog fanboy I am, I plan to pick up Uncharted 3 . I'll also be grabbing Modern Warfare 3 and The King of Fighters XIII . In terms of my backlog, I picked up the PC version of Brink a while back so I'll be giving that a spin. I also plan to finish Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway and Kirby's Return To Dreamland in the next couple of days, but I'm also going to spend the month trying to clean up all of the trophies in Section 8: Prejudice - only 8 more until my platinum! Oh, and maybe my friend will finally pick up Ratchet and Clank All 4 One so I can start playing i