Explosive Barrels

It’s probably happened a few times in Borderlands 1, 2 or 3 because really, who can keep up with all of the annoying colored barrels, projectiles, screaming psychopaths, mechs, pets, Rakks, etc? You’ll like find yourself irradiated, electrocuted or just plain burning from a stray bullet grazing the odd barrel. On the bright side, there’s nothing quite like triggering a bunch of explosive barrels near an enemy and watching the fireworks.

The loot box controversy that stated as a result of the egregious monetization in Star Wars Battlefront 2, and the uproar and backlash around it, has led to actual legislation being introduced for games with monetization around the world. Netherlands has already declared that loot boxes are illegal- and now Belgium has joined the fray, confirming that loot boxes are games of chances, and therefore gambling- and as a result, illegal.

A statement from Minister of Justice Koen Geens said that unless games FIFA 18, Overwatch, and Counter Strike GO remove loot boxes, their publishers “risk a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to 800,000 euros”.

If children are involved with playing those games, those punishments can be doubled, Greens added. Belgium expressed a particular concern about the impact loot boxes have on young people. “It is often children who come into contact with such systems and we cannot allow that,” Geens warned.

Ironically, the only game found to not be guilty in Belgium’s investigation was Star Wars Battlefront 2– because EA removed all loot boxes from it after the backlash.

Still, it remains to be seen now how Belgium and Netherlands’ rulings will influence things. Will publishers stop selling their games in those territories? Make alternate versions of their games that strip out the loot boxes? Just remove loot boxes from their games entirely? I eagerly hope it is that last one.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Undertale

Toby Fox’s Undertale possesses a ton of charm underneath its relatively archaic visuals. Whether it’s the quirky gameplay, freedom of choice or utter wit, it’s a game whose art-style pays homage to the retro era of gaming. For a retro-styled game though, it could look a little bit better. Regardless, if you want a compelling story with significant consequences, Undertale is your ticket.

Curtis Henke

Better known as FaZe Dirty, Curtis Henke was the subject of an ABC News report when he was revealed to have been swatted. Essentially, someone posing as Henke claimed to have shot his parents, prompting the police to investigate. Henke’s parents were alive of course and were absolutely clueless as to what was going on.

Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be making the move to Source 2.0 Engine.

As per a report from PCGamesN, Counter-Strike: GO will be releasing in China. The presentation for the launch was shared and indicated that the game would be moving to Source 2 Engine.

This isn’t the first time Valve as attempted such a change – Dota 2 shifted to Source 2 not too long ago. That shift is also apparent in that the Panorama UI, currently being used for Dota 2, will also be used in CS: GO.

That’s not all though. A new operation will also be releasing this Summer. Thus far no information has been shared about its name or mechanics but it’s definitely coming.

Counter-Strike: GO will be out on April 18th in China so expect to see the shift to Source 2.0 sometime soon. What are your thoughts on all the new features? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for more info.

We’ve heard a lot about Half-Life 3 over the years despite Valve insisting it’s not in development. Rumours of prototypes, possible VR releases and whatnot have been around but according to an anonymous source that spoke to Game Informer, there’s no such thing as Half-Life 3 at Valve.

This anonymous source is tied to Valve and is one of the few that responded to requests to be interviewed. Though it’s meant to be taken with a grain of salt, Game Informer does stand by the validity of the information. Take that for what you will.

Right off the bat, the source says that, “There is no such thing as Half-Life 3. Valve has never announced a Half-Life 3. The closest they’ve come is after Half-Life 2, they said there would be three episodes. We only got two of those. That is arguably an unfulfilled promise. Anything else that we might think about as a full game or sequel has never been promised.”

With the way Valve works, it’s possible for any employee to work on a game that becomes a new Half-Life project. And while this has happened many times, lack of support from senior management means they fizzle out.

“When they were making episodes for Half-Life 2 that was probably the best and strongest effort that ever happened toward another Half-Life project. You have people that were working on Half-Life, people that finished Half-Life: Episode 2, that already imagined where they wanted to go next – they were cooking, and wanted to keep the wheel spinning.

“Undoubtedly what happened is a lot of things were changing for Valve. Orange Box launched and did its thing. People who care about Team Fortress were doing their thing. You had people trying to get something going with Counter-Strike again. You got people that are playing other games, and that led to Dota 2.

“You have the Steam platform itself. Left for Dead. Portal 2. The hardware teams. You have a whole bunch of pet and big projects going on. All of that is getting more gravity than this third episode of Half-Life. There’s something with that third episode that isn’t sitting right with Gabe and other people at Valve. Ultimately it just starves to death. The people that tried to give it life find themselves better off working on other projects. What you have left is nothing going on with Half-Life.”

As for why Valve simply won’t talk about it anymore, the reason is simple. “Every time they talk about it, the hunger comes back. That’s why they ignore it. The pain subsides with time.”

Again, grain of salt and whatnot. What are your thoughts on all of this? Let us know in the comments.

As if the popularity of Blizzard’s Overwatch wasn’t proven time and time again, analyst firm SuperData revealed in its 2016 Year in Review report regarding Digital Games and Interactive Media that it was the top grossing title among premium PC games (namely those that aren’t free to play).

Overwatch brought in a staggering $585.6 million with Counter-Strike GO coming in at second with $257.2 million and Guild Wars 2 raking in $91 million. Overwatch is relatively new but given the popularity of CS:GO and the former releasing in May (the report accounts for revenue from January to November 2016), it’s still a big deal.

Premium PC games managed to generate $5.4 billion in revenue overall with Overwatch accounting for more than 10 percent. With even more modes, heroes and features promised for 2017, it looks like Blizzard’s reign of terror among premium PC titles will continue.

What are your thoughts on the success of Overwatch? Let us know in the comments.