© Epic Games
Sonos is offering an extra 25% off a few of their already discounted lineup of certified refurbished Sonos speakers and soundbars. This deal was actually unavailable on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (it started later).
Sonos refurb products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. More importantly, they include the same 1-year warranty as buying new.
You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. For more information on each product and why they are worth your consideration, read through below.
The Arc is Sonos' flagship product. This is a premium soundbar and it shows. This 45" soundbar houses eleven precisely engineered internal speakers, including two dedicated height channels. It's Dolby Atmos ready, and there's enough power here that you can probably get away without a subwoofer. However, the Sonos Arc can be wirelessly paired up with other Sonos speakers and subs to add even more sound distribution. The Arc has a built-in mic so it can accept voice commands and is Amazon Alexa compatible. The Arc SL is the identical product but without the mic.
The Sonos Beam is a smaller 26" soundbar that houses four elliptical midwoofers, one central tweeter and three passive bass radiators. It's also Dolby Atmos ready. Unlike the Arc SL, the Beam is equipped with microphones, so it can function as a smart speaker that supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The Sonos Era 100 is a direct successor to the Sonos One. Sound quality is equivalent to a Sonos Move, which isn't surprising considering they have similar internal components: two tweeters, a mid-woofer, and three class-D digital amps. The Era 100 also supports Dolby Atmos when it is paired with an Arc or Beam soundbar. It has a built-in microphone and can be voice controlled; it can also be used as a smart speaker for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
If you're looking for an easy solution to add great sound to your home, then you've probably already heard of Sonos. Sonos speakers are very easy to set up, don't take a large amount of space, and most importantly, offer distortion-free room-filling audio. We picked Sonos as our best soundbar of 2024.
Despite the fact that Sonos products are compact and don't take up much space in your house, they offer surprisingly loud and distortion-free audio. They're definitely pricier than budget options, but the sound quality is more akin to audio products that cost hundreds more or take up much more space.
Sonos devices are usually simple plug and play. All you have to do is plug in a power cable (if even that's necessary) and one connection to your TV (if even that's necessary), download the Sonos app, and you're done. Generally a receiver isn't required; the soundbars are designed to plug right into your TV and the speakers are designed to work wirelessly. For something like a 5.1ch home theater setup, you don't have to deal with a mess of cables. Individual Sonos speakers can pair with your soundbar and be used as rear satellites, and the subwoofer is also wireless so it can be positioned virtually anywhere in your room.
Practically all Sonos speakers can communicate with each other. That means you can pair different Sonos speakers in different rooms for multi-room capability. Or you can pair two speakers for stereo output. Or you can pair speakers to your soundbar to be used as a 5.1ch setup. It's all seamlessly done through the app.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
© Octo Games
Intel has just announced its Battlemage GPUs, and has revealed the latest version of XeSS, XeSS 2. XeSS 2 will feature XeSS Super Resolution, XeSS Frame Generation and Xe Low Latency. Intel has also revealed the first games that will support XeSS 2. So, let’s take a closer look at what Intel has announced. Let’s … Continue reading Intel has announced XeSS 2, and here are the first games that will support it →
The post Intel has announced XeSS 2, and here are the first games that will support it appeared first on DSOGaming.
MachineGames has revealed the official PC system requirements for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. These PC requirements also include the Full Ray Tracing requirements. So, let’s take a look at them. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will require a GPU that supports hardware Ray Tracing. So, to run the game, you will at … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets official PC requirements →
The post Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets official PC requirements appeared first on DSOGaming.
GSC GameWorld has released the third patch for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and shared its complete changelog. This update is 19GB in size on PC, and it fixes 19 issues in total. So, let’s take a look at it. Title Update 1.0.3 fixes multiple ACCESS_VIOLATION_ERROR and LowLevelFatalError crashes. As such, the game should be … Continue reading STALKER 2 Patch 1.0.3 released, is 19GB in size, fixes mouse controls, missing saves and crash issues →
The post STALKER 2 Patch 1.0.3 released, is 19GB in size, fixes mouse controls, missing saves and crash issues appeared first on DSOGaming.
© Bioware
© GSC Game World
Cyber Monday is over, and with it over 90% of the deals. But that means there are some deals left over. There are also a few deals that had previously expired and have come back. If you've missed the entire show, or you realized just a bit too late that you needed something else, check out this list and see if there's something you are after.
Sony released its entire set of Cyber Monday PlayStation deals on November 21 and most major retailers have followed suit. These deals have an official end date of December 2 (Cyber Monday), however the consoles are currently still available. The PS5 Slim Disc Edition has dropped to $424.99 (originally $500) and the PS5 Slim Digital Edition has dropped to $374.99 (originally $450). I would choose the Disc Edition because it's only $50 more and then I have the option to buy (and later sell or trade) physical disc media. Although the Fortnite Cobalt Star bundle has a fancy-looking box, no actual game is included.
Best Buy is offering the new Xbox Series X All-Digital Edition console, which normally retails for $449.99. for $399.99 after a savings of $50. That was pretty much the only decent price on a fully powered Xbox Series X for Cyber Monday. If you''re looking for an actual deal on an Xbox Series X console, this might be the best one yet.
Today Dell is offering its gaming-oriented 34" Dell S3422DWG monitor for only $299.99. It sports an ultra-wide 3440x1440 16:10 resolution with an 1800R curve. A 34" monitor with a 3440x1440 resolution boasts a pixel density of 110ppi, which is more than sharp enough to make games look great, but it also won't tax your system nearly as heavily as a true 4K display. You can pair it with a GeForce RTX 4070 or equivalent card and that will give you plenty of power to spare for max graphic settings or ultra high framerates.
Lenovo had the best deal on Xbox controllers for Cyber Monday and a few are still available now after you apply coupon code "BFCMXBOX". The $35 controllers are all sold out, but a number of $39.99 controllers can still be purchased for a day or two longer. These controllers are compatible with Xbox Series X and S consoles as well as your PC.
Amazon has once again dropped the price of the 10th gen Apple iPad back down to $249.99. This deal was available during Black Friday, but Amazon had raised it to $279 on Cyber Monday. This is the best price we've seen for the current gen iPad 10th gen ever since it was launched back in 2022. On a related note, you can also get a 4-pack of Apple AirTags for $72.99 right now, which is a pretty good deal, too.
Bowflex isn't the only option when it comes to adjustable dumbbell sets. FitRX is another popular brand at a much lower price point. Today, you can pick up a pair of FitRx Adjustable Dumbbells for only $139.97. A comparable set of Bowflex 551 adjustable dumbbells costs three times more. Walmart even offers free shipping, which is great since the package will weigh in at well over 100 pounds. This was one of the most popular deals during Walmart's Cyber Monday Sale.
This might very well be the best gaming PC deal of Cyber Monday. Walmart is offering this iBuyPower Y40 gaming PC with AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU and the excellent RTX 4070 GPU for only $1199. The RTX 4070 Super is one of the best graphics cards for most people; it's affordably priced and yet it's powerful enough to run games at up to 4K (although 1440p is its sweet spot). I personally gamed on a 4K monitor with a RTX 3080 GPU (less powerful than the RTX 4070 Super) before I upgraded. The system is contained in a nice looking Hyte Y40 midtower chassis (iBuyPower and Hyte are sister brands).
Amazon released this excellent best SSD deal very late into Cyber Monday, and it's still available today. Get a blazing fast Samsung 990 Pro 2TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe solid state drive (SSD) with preinstalled heatsink for only $149.99. There are other, cheaper SSDs out there, but the 990 Pro is widely considered the fastest PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market. It makes for an outstanding drop-in storage expansion for your PlayStation 5 console or as a boot drive for your gaming rig.
A surprising number of PS5 and Xbox Series X video games have survived past Cyber Monday. Most of these deals are now going through Amazon since Best Buy, Walmart, and Target have expired the vast majority of their deals. Notable pickups include Metaphor: Refantazio, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Astrobot, Stellar Blade, and Gran Turismo 7.
More Nintendo Switch games have met the axe than PS5 and Xbox games, so there aren't too many deals left. The best Switch game deal of Cyber Monday, however, is still available. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is still only $30 from Walmart if you opt for a digital copy. This 10/10 "Masterpiece" rated game is well worth that price.
Woot's Cyber Monday Sale is mostly over, but one of their most popular deals lives on for a bit longer. Right now, you can score an Anker PowerCore 737 24,000mAh 140W Power Bank for only $69.99. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, otherwise pay $6. This is the best price we've seen for one of our favorite Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally X chargers. I have owned this power bank for over a year; it has been on multiple flights and road trips and is still lasting strong.
Woot! is also offering the Anker Prime 27,650mAh USB Power Bank for only $99.99. This is again the best price we've seen for 2024 (the previous lowest price was $119.99). The Anker Prime is the successor to the Anker 737 with a couple of noticeable upgrades like a higher power capacity (but still within the limit for TSA eligibility), higher power delivery output (250W vs 140W) and a higher charging rate through USB Type-A (65W vs 18W).
From now until December 31, non-current Audible subscribers are eligible for three months of Audible Premium Plus for $0.99 per month and a bonus one-time $20 Audible credit. Premium Plus is Audible's best plan and three months would normally cost you about $44.95. You also get a free audiobook of your choice each month that you get to keep indefinitely.
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and it gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks. These include all-time classics like Frank Herbert's Dune, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), The Witcher, The Sandman Series, and The Lord of the Rings.
Walmart is offering a Lenovo LOQ RTX 4070 gaming laptop for only $879.99. Yes you read that right. The LOQ is Lenovo's lineup of budget-oriented gaming laptops. This system features a 15" 1080p display, a low-voltage AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS CPU, GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The RTX 4070 GPU is a fully powered (115W TGP) model, not a throttled one like on some other budget laptops. Despite its low cost, this laptop will perform almost as well as the best RTX 4070 gaming laptops. You should be able to play any game comfortably on the 1080p display.
Here's another excellent gaming laptop deal from Walmart. The Asus ROG Strix G17 gaming laptop, which is equipped with a 17" FHD display, AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX CPU, RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, is down to $1199 shipped. That's an excellent price for an RTX 4070 equipped gaming laptop, even better for a laptop with a larger 17" display. Like the Lenovo above, the G17 is equipped with a 115W TGP RTX 4070 GPU that should be able to handle any game comfortably on the 1080p display. It's paired with a powerful, high-end Ryzen 9 CPU that effectively turns it into a mobile desktop replacement for all your workstation tasks.
Amazon is offering the massive 57" Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Dual 4K UHD gaming monitor for $1482.99. This is one of the first 57" Dual 4K UHD monitors on the market, boasting an eye-watering 7680x2160 resolution, or the equivalent of two 4K UHD monitors stacked next to each other. Despite the display being so large, you're treated to a pixel density of 140ppi. To put that into perspective, it's as sharp as a 32" 4K monitor and the size is equivalent to two of these monitors placed next to each other.
These JLabs JBuds Lux are an incredible value. First of all, they feature both wireless connectivity and noise cancellation for under $30. Better yet, unlike virtually all other headphones at this price point, they're actually very good! SoundGuys recently reviewed the JLabs JBuds Lux and gave it an absolutely glowing review, mentioning that they were one of the best headphones under $100. SoundGuys considered them an extremely good value at their retail price of $79. Imagine their opinion at the current $29 price point.
Amazon has dropped the price of the super popular and well-reviewed Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine to $399.95 after a 20% discount. This machine is rarely discounted, even on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You can read the reviews online, but the Bambino Plus is well-regarded, even among the coffee snobs, as an incredible bang for your buck at retail price, especially if you like pouring yourself lattes or other milk-based coffee drinks. To get something appreciably better, you'll have to pay north of $1,000.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Microsoft has announced the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in December 2024, headlined by Indiana Jones and the Great Circle but also including the likes of Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is the highly anticipated release from Wolfenstein developer MachineGames and is Indy's first proper foray into the video game space. Players are tasked with uncovering one of history's greatest mysteries in the first person single player adventure, and arrives as a day one title on December 9.
"Generations of gamers both new and old should care [about this game]," IGN said in our preview. "Because as good as the studio’s recent Wolfenstein reboots were, The Great Circle might be even better."
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled is something quite different as a colorful kart racer akin to Mario Kart. "Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled’s difficulty, memorable track design, and addictive power-slide mechanic make it a kart racer worth playing but it's not without its frustrations," IGN said in our 8/10 review.
Also on the racing front, EA Sports WRC is available December 5 and brings its rally championship action to Game Pass subscribers. It didn't review as well as previous entries, however. "EA Sports WRC feels like a great racing game trying to fight its way out of an unfinished one," we said in our 6/10 review.
Overthrown arrives the same day. "Lift and throw anything as you build and manage your kingdom in this chaotic city builder for one to six players," the synopsis reads. "Harness the power of your soul-stealing crown to defend your citizens from bandits and mutants, farm the land, and gather resources."
Aptly arrived in the midst of winter, Wildfrost is a tactical roguelike deckbuilder set in the town of Snowdell. The sun has frozen over and its survivors stand as the last bastion against an eternal winter.
Flipping the traditional hero saves the day narrative on its head is the next entry, the side scrolling action game Carrion. "Carrion nails the power fantasy of being a horror movie monster, but makes exploration a chore that pads the adventure," IGN said in our 7/10 review.
Finally, wrapping up the month is Road 96, the wild and wacky procedurally generated game about taking a road trip. "Road 96 is a fascinating and frequently tense adventure that manages to keep its story on track despite the odd bump in the road," IGN said in our 8/10 review.
Those not subscribed to Ultimate can look forward to some new titles too, as Xbox Game Pass Standard is getting the likes of Forza Motorsport and Humanity while Xbox Game Pass core is getting DayZ and Goat Simulator.
A handful of games are leaving Xbox Game Pass this month too, though those looking to continue playing afterwards can save 20% on their full price by purchasing them while they're still available on the subscription service.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
Amazon has once again dropped the price of the 10th gen Apple iPad back down to $249.99. This deal was available during Black Friday, but Amazon had raised it to $279 on Cyber Monday. This is the best price we've seen for the current gen iPad 10th gen ever since it was launched back in 2022. On a related note, you can also get a 4-pack of Apple AirTags for $72.99 right now, which is a pretty good deal, too.
For most people, the iPad (not the Air, Mini, or Pro) is the best model to get because it offers nearly all the benefits of the iOS operating system and snappy performance at an affordable price. This model has significant improvements over its predecessor. For starters, it boasts a larger 10.9" screen without adding to the overall dimensions thanks to a slimmer bezel. It also has a faster A14 Bionic chip, which is a 20% increase in CPU performance and a 10% increase in GPU performance over the A13. It's now compatible with the Magic Folio keyboard so you can convert it into a mini laptop for better workflow (making it one of the best iPads for students). Other practical upgrades include the transition to a universal USB Type-C port, a better camera, and an updated Wi-Fi 6 protocol.
The model on sale right now is equipped with 64GB of internal storage and Wi-Fi (not LTE) connectivity. All color options (Silver, Blue, Pink, and Yellow) are discounted and ship out in November. Choosing a model with more storage or cellular connectivity will cost you a lot more. Value-wise, keep it simple and go with the base model.
If you're not sure which iPad is best for you, we have an iPad guide which details which iPad is ideal for which use case. If you intend want to get an iPad for schoolwork, we have an iPad guide for students as well. If you're looking for options outside of iOS, check out the best Android tablets of 2024.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
© Intel
© Future
© GSC Game World
© Kiseff
© MSI
Microsoft has revealed the games leaving Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass in December 2024, with titles such as Rise of the Tomb Raider and The Quarry both leaving.
The Xbox Game Pass website has been updated to reveal a total of 7 games are leaving the service. Forza Horizon 4 is also leaving, though this was announced alongside a complete delisting in June.
Those looking to continue playing the departing games, with the exception of Forza Horizon 4, can buy them outright for 20% off their full price until their delisting date in the next two weeks.
Forza Horizon 4 is perhaps the most beloved game leaving the service and digital stores, as it earned a 9/10 in IGN's review. Developer Playground Games revealed its delisting comes as a result of "licensing and agreements with our partners."
Rise of the Tomb Raider, meanwhile, is the middle chapter in the modern Tomb Raider series. Rise of the Tomb Raider takes its predecessor's winning formula and improves on it in every way," IGN said in another 9/10 review.
Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly asserted that 13 games were leaving Game Pass, and that Rise of the Tomb Raider was the final chapter of the modern series.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
IGN can exclusively debut eight minutes from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, New Line Cinema’s upcoming anime feature film directed by Kenji Kamiyama (the Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series). The footage – first screened at New York Comic Con 2024 – can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.
The film’s voice cast is led by Brian Cox (Succession) as Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan. These ominous scenes establish a pervasive sense of dread and superstition. The following official synopsis sheds light on when exactly the film takes place in the official movie timeline and what’s at stake for the kingdom of Rohan:
“Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.”
Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) voices Héra, while Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) voices Wulf. Miranda Otto – reprising her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy – serves as the film’s narrator
The stellar voice ensemble also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm).
Behind the scenes, Oscar winner Philippa Boyens – part of the screenwriting team behind the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies – produces The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim with Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou. Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Carolyn Blackwood, and Toby Emmerich serve as executive producers.
Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou penned the screenplay, from a story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Other returning creative collaborators from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy include Alan Lee, Richard Taylor, and Tolkien illustrator John Howe.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a Warner Bros. Animation / Sola Entertainment production. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film in cinemas nationwide on December 13, 2024, and internationally beginning December 11, 2024. Tickets are now on sale.
Editor's note: This article originally referred to the footage as the opening scenes of the film in error.
Critical Role, the company behind a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game series of the same name starring voice actors such as Matthew Mercer, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, and more, is in "active pursuit" of creating a video game.
Critical Role CEO and main cast member Travis Willingham told Rolling Stone that an announcement could be imminent, though didn't clarify if it will be an adaptation of one of its series akin to the animated show on Prime Video or something completely fresh.
"I would say it’s an active pursuit on our end," Willingham said. "The last few years we have been having necessary conversations to figure out how to do that smartly. It's an entire enterprise that’s separate from what we do on Beacon, Twitch, or YouTube; it’s separate from the animated series and it comes with its [own] understanding that has to be undertaken.
"Those are all things that we’ve been actively pursuing. But the concise way of saying it is that we are starting to come to the end of a long road that we’ve been undertaking for the last couple of years.
"Hopefully we’ll have something really exciting to share, maybe around the end of the year, maybe at the beginning of 2025, just in time for our 10-year anniversary. But it’s something we’ve definitely had our minds on.
"Those collaborations we’ve had with various partners have been little toe dips in the pool just to see how it feels. You know, there’s a lot of upheaval in the interactive space right now. And we’ve seen studios sort of bear and weather those strains. It’s trying to become smarter about it and find out how we might fit into that larger ecosystem."
Critical Role began in March 2015 as a video series through Geek & Sundry, though went independent in 2019. The show follows the adventures of the cast's own D&D game, and while they're now in the third full campaign, countless spin-offs and specials have been released over the years.
This has included expansions into other games, with Critical Role even developing its own tabletop RPG called Daggerheart, and the aforementioned animated show with Prime Video.
Image Credit: Anna Webber/Getty Images for Prime Video
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
“First-person shooter” is a broad term. It can mean everything from a monster-filled horror game like F.E.A.R., to a sci-fi adventure like Metroid Prime, to a demon-eviscerating romp like Doom. Even narrowing it down to a label like “military FPS” still puts the linear campaign of Call of Duty, the enormous PvP clashes of Battlefield, and the white knuckle extractions of Escape from Tarkov under a single umbrella. Delta Force, the latest entry in a now 26-year-old shooter series, is probably best defined as a bit of each of those last three – with a dedicated large-scale PvP mode, a separate extraction shooter mode, and an (as yet unreleased) campaign, it sits somewhat awkwardly at the center of a that Venn diagram. It is still too early to render a final verdict, but my initial hours playing ahead of launch have already left me intrigued enough that I’m looking forward to my next deployment on the live servers later this week.
Because this release is technically the start of an indefinite “open beta” (which, for a free-to-play game, really just means it’s out), only two of the three main modes are currently available, with the campaign planned as paid DLC somewhere down the line. Of the two that are here now, the Warfare mode is Delta Force’s answer to the big team combat of Battlefield. 64 players duke it out for supremacy across one of a handful of massive, sprawling arenas. The matches I played in the early review period were focused on the Attack and Defend option within Warfare, though King of the Hill and some other time-based modes are apparently going to be available at launch.
Attack and Defend puts one team on offense, tasked with capturing some strategic points before running out of a finite number of respawns, while the other team defends those areas with limitless lives. If the offense succeeds, they refill their respawns and the cycle begins anew on another part of the map until all of the field is seized or the defense stops them in their tracks. It’s a good setup; initially, the offense has the advantage thanks to favorable terrain and an abundance of vehicles, but things even out as the match progresses and the defense retreats toward their home base. This means each side typically gets to spend some time as both the figurative hammer and the nail.
The battles certainly do feel big, which is a good thing. Fast respawns mean both teams are dense with soldiers. Once the bullets and rockets start flying, the chaos and confusion on the battlefield is exciting. It’s particularly fun when you get behind the controls of a vehicle and start running roughshod over the other team. A tank fully loaded with gunners can dominate, but don’t sleep on the impact of a simple machine gun turret on the top of an armored car.
Thankfully, the times I’ve found myself on the wrong end of that tank barrel I haven’t been totally helpless thanks to the varied operatives you can choose from mid-match. These named characters act as a sort of hybrid between a simple loadout choice and a bespoke hero, which fits the jack-of-all-trades theme persistent throughout Delta Force. If you are being overrun by vehicles, it might be a good idea to spawn with a rocket launcher, or if the fight is taking place in open spaces, it could be time to bust out the trusty sniper rifle. Each character has unique abilities that are helpful in battle too, like Luna’s Detection Arrows that can periodically be fired to reveal enemies, but none are so powerful as to outright win a skirmish, let alone a whole match, for you.
I just wish the actual action felt better. Bullet arc and trajectory factor heavily into shooting, so leading your targets is essential for firing accurately at a distance. That, combined with a fast time-to-kill, makes for gunplay more in the spirit of a military sim like Arma. That’s all well and good on its own, but feels deeply at odds with the aggressive pace of play that the objective-based Attack and Defend mode drives. Slow bullets at the mercy of gravity that kill you instantly feel a little too airsoft-like for an intense battle over a key chokepoint.
On the other side of things, the Operations mode follows the familiar extraction shooter framework; you and up to two friends can form a three-person squad to enter an area, shoot, loot, and scoot. Whatever you bring back to your base between rounds you can either sell, store, or use in the next attempt, and whatever is on you if you die or don’t escape in time is lost for good. It’s a tried-and-true formula that Delta Force follows to the letter, but the high quality of its execution makes up for that unoriginality. q
Each level is an open sandbox that is dense with potential objectives. Maps easily highlight points of interest for things like bounty targets, safes to plunder, and intel to decode. That might seem like a small detail to praise, but in a genre dominated by games like Escape from Tarkov that are designed to be intentionally opaque, making important information accessible is a nice differentiator. I like being able to just drop a waypoint and know what I’m in for when I get there without having to memorize the maps.
Once you pick your destination, you’ll need to shoot your way through squads of AI soldiers, and occasionally human-controlled enemies. You never know who’s around, or in what numbers, so every enemy encounter starts with some fast risk assessment: do you take the shot and risk letting everyone know where you are, or do you sneak by for the stealthy approach, leaving a potential threat on the field? Making quick decisions with limited information does a good job of keeping the action strategic and interesting. That’s particularly true if you see other people, as they are certainly more dangerous than the bots, but could be loot-rich targets worth taking on.
So far I’m a fan of the enemy variety. My squad has taken down roving bands of riflemen, ducked into buildings to avoid sniper fire, and executed on-the-fly flanking maneuvers to get around riot shields. One memorable moment saw my team pinned down by a massive armored baddie blasting at us with a minigun as we lobbed grenades from behind cover. Another time, a member of our trio was cracking a safe while the other squadmate and I provided cover, and I almost jumped out of my chair when a giant alligator came around the corner and tried to put a stop to our fun.
My primary worry about Operations at this point is the loop loot. There are all sorts of containers everywhere, like file cabinets, coat pockets, fallen enemies, etc. – but after just a few hours with the mode, I rarely bother to check them anymore now that I have a good idea of where to go for the actual high-ticket items. I’m hopeful there won’t be a point where the maps feel “solved” anytime soon, but they are already feeling less dynamic with each run.
The time between them is spent at the Black Site, which functions as your home base. This is where you buy, sell, and make upgrades, particularly to the amount of storage space in your stash. It’s also where you manage the well-built loadouts option. This lets you save a few different kits you can take into battle and rebuild them with just a few clicks. Pieces will be pulled from your inventory first, and then automatically purchased from the store as needed. It’s a fast and slick way to get back in the action, which helps take the sting out of a failed extraction.
Of course, these are all still just my initial impressions - it takes time to get a comprehensive feel for how well a PvP mode like Warfare is working, and there are still a few Operations I haven’t explored, so I’m not quite ready to give a final verdict until I’ve played on the live servers. However, I can say that the extraction mode is a lot of fun in the early going, and I enjoy the scale of Delta Force’s PvP encounters even if I’m not yet sold that this style of gunplay is the right match for that action. It’s at least clear this is a competent free-to-play shooter that can cater to a few different FPS tastes, but it remains to be seen if it has the staying power to keep my interest once the initial novelty wears off.
Connexion
