Jamal Moffitt

Ah yes, 2016 is here. We've finally gotten to the point in our planet's history where the current year almost sounds fictitious. Bad quips about how the number of years that have passed aside, 2016 is set to be a downright fascinating 366 days when it comes to video games (that's right, it's a leap year - here's to hoping you found this out from a gaming article). If there's one thing that there isn't enough of on the Internet every year, it's articles hoping for certain aspects of a new year to be wonderful. In honor of this, we're bringing you three wonderful wishes for each major gaming entity (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and PC) over the next four days that, if true, might just make 2016 the best year for gaming yet. While the Xbox One is very much in second place, Microsoft's heavy consumer focus over the past year definitely has put the Xbox One in prime position to be a downright awesome console. There is plenty of other content mentioned in the post as well, several of which are cosmetics. Not only will island and ship cosmetic chests be available but more customization options for the pirate generator will be added. Some of these include scars, tattoos, hair color, makeup, skin color, and several oth Although it could have easily closed the show and generated the same amount of response, God of War kicked off Sony’s E3 Press Conference and set a specific tone. Seeing Kratos bearded and with a son helped draw players in, and the direction and gameplay reinforced that this wasn’t going to be the same God of War that fans know and love. But more than anything, the demo was compelling in all the right ways. It looked great, had interesting gameplay, and teased just enough of the story to leave fans wanting m While the closed beta only features sharks and skeletons as AI-controlled enemies, the datamine reveals a wider variety of enemies and creatures, some of which have already been featured in trailers for the game . The data implies that the full game will feature bats, chickens, fish, parrots, pigs, seagulls, sharks, and snakes. It's not currently known if parrots will be tamable, allowing pirates to mount a feathered companion on their shoulders as they guzzle down some grog. The datamine also reveals that mermaids will not always be friendly like they are in the beta, and that the Kraken will wrap its tentacles around the ship in a manner which will likely require the crew to work together quickly in order to surv The addition of harpoon guns brings some exciting possibilities for underwater combat and maneuvering: it's a great shark deterrent (as it's likely gunpowder-based weapons won't be usable under water post-beta), and also brings the possibility that pirates will be able to attach themselves to opposing ships via the harpoons and potentially sneak up the sides. Of course, that's not the only new weapon to watch out for. The boarding axe, heavy sword, rapier, flintlock pistol, and blunderbuss will also be featured in the full version of sea of Thieves Voyages|https://seaofthievespedia.com/ of Thiev While all this should be taken with a grain of salt, it's easy to see why a Rare and Microsoft would be gearing up for an open beta. With the hype surrounding the game right now thanks to the closed-beta and high twitch viewership, not to mention a limited edition controller set to be released, the studios would want to keep riding this high up until the game's release and an open-beta could go a long way towards t New game mechanics are also mentioned in the post. Behavior and combat effects are to be added to the large kraken battles featured in the game. Tweaks are also being done of enemy difficulty, with more difficulty ranks being added to skeleton enemEven though Rare Replay was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2015, it's been far too long since Rare has made a game that feels truly aligned with its original development vision. Yes, the masterminds of yesteryear have moved on from the heralded development studio, but when we got a glimpse of Rare's next project, it's hard not to feel that awesome blend of nostalgia and novelty that this UK-based developer seemed to capture so well. The Sea of Thieves closed beta has only been active for a handful of days, but that hasn't stopped hungry gamers from turning over every rock (in-game or otherwise) in the quest to uncover as much about the game as possible. The upcoming multiplayer seafaring experience will see pirates voyaging from island to island in search of treasure, contracts, and glory, but the closed beta only offers a sample-sized portion of the full picture. Now, Sea of Thieves fans have datamined the closed beta in order to get a better glimpse of what is to cSea of Thieves is primarily about social interaction between the players in the shared world experience. Whether playing with real life friends, regular online gaming partners, or complete strangers, the goal is to interact and work together as a crew. In game ice breakers will be included to help strangers loosen up and bond with each other, an analogy that was given was it is like going to a pub to have a drink and meet new friends.