Still, it’s worth keeping in mind there are few brands as prominent as Call of Duty - not even Halo can reach the same heights. Looking to Microsoft’s choices in the past might reveal a few hints about the future. There is a lot of data we don't have that Microsoft will use to make its decisions about which games to continue publishing broadly and which to make console exclusives.” “On the other hand, taking those games off the PlayStation platform would clearly be a lot of abandoned revenue. “Obviously, exclusivity would be a huge boon to Microsoft, because Call of Duty games held the #1 and #3 best selling spots in the US on PlayStation last year according to NPD,” Futter says. There’s a case to be made for both exclusivity and multiplatform as Mike Futter, an analyst at F-Squared, tells Inverse. It’s clear that Microsoft already has plans to take advantage of Activision Blizzard, with the announcement post saying “The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers.”Ĭall of Duty Warzone reportedly makes around $5.2 million in revenue a day. Like with past acquisitions, the company has been slow to say anything beyond the initial announcement, but it’s hard to imagine Microsoft not leveraging its new ownership of Call of Duty in some way. One of the biggest questions is what this means for Activision Blizzard’s current slate of games, and if blockbuster games like Call of Duty might eventually become Xbox exclusives.Ĭall of Duty is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, and Microsoft hasn’t said anything about exclusivity at this time. The deal could potentially change the landscape of gaming in ways that are difficult to fathom at this stage. It’s far and away the biggest acquisition the gaming industry has ever seen, dwarfing the acquisition of Zynga by Take-Two for $12.8 billion in early January. This is one island worth getting marooned on.On January 18, Microsoft announced dropped a bombshell: it will acquire Activision Blizzard for the staggering price of nearly $70 billion. I could have gotten lost on that island and solved puzzles for double of its actual running time (about six hours), but the game spends as much time as it needs to spin its tale and test your noggin. With all the focus on ancient tribes, mysticism, and death, the endearing bond between Norah and Harry manages to shine through even when Norah is the only one providing insight.Ĭall of the Sea kept me hooked from beginning to end, making it a voyage worth embarking on. The story takes some dark and surprising turns that culminate in a surprising and mostly satisfying conclusion. I loved picking up notes with more details about Harry’s expedition and further insight into Norah’s illness. When the going got tough, however, the strong narrative propelled me forward. I eventually just resorted to a walkthrough, and I’m still not sure how the answer makes sense. It's a clever idea on paper, but after exhausting the area of all of its notes and visual hints, it felt like the game still wasn’t clearly communicating a key step – like I was missing a crucial piece to a cool jigsaw puzzle. One particularly maddening example involves using symbols to operate a series of locks to open a door. Most puzzles are reasonably tough, but a couple feel too obtuse. The challenges grow more complicated the deeper Norah penetrates the island. Call of the Sea regularly surprised me with its puzzle design, and I always looked forward to seeing what was next. Smaller puzzles often feed into larger ones to create a cohesive whole, and it’s fun to see how riddles thematically build upon each other. One of the largest and most impressive challenges tasked me with discovering the correct melody to play on a giant, ancient organ. Puzzles come in many cool shapes and sizes they can be as simple as rotating totem poles to match a specific pattern, or as elaborate as deciphering a dead language. Furthermore, Norah jots down important info in her journal, which alleviates much of the pressure in terms of committing clues to memory. I always found everything I needed if I was reasonably thorough in my searches. Inspecting curious objects and notes is part of the fun, and nothing is ever too hidden. An ancient mural or a hastily drawn sketch can often be the difference between a quick solution and more prolonged head-scratching. It takes advantage of its alluring beauty by encouraging players to look at everything around them to spot clues and connect dots. What I love most is how Call of the Sea makes you feel like both an observant detective and a problem-solving genius. Norah is more Nancy Drew than Lara Croft, so puzzles take precedence over combat, and they succeed with clever design and strong variety.
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