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Ubisoft tells Black Flag microtransaction critics that they control the DLC they buy
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is here and violently colon-less, despite my deep-rooted ancestral urge to fill every gap between those words with dots and dashes, as our forefathers did in the days of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
But it's not Ubisoft's crimes against grammar that prompted the game to hit Mixed Steam reviews at launch (it's picked up since, and at time of writing is at Mostly Positive). It was the fact that, in typical Ubisoft fashion, the game's store page ripples with microtransactions for outfits, weapons, and the obligatory 'Pay $5 to play less of the $60 game you just bought' map-reveal pack.
The reviews were home to a lot of people who felt nickel-and-dimed. "What's the point of getting the deluxe version when, immediately in game, there's $84.91-worth [of] 'DLC' that you don't own" asked one. "I want a single player experience I can enjoy WITHOUT microtransactions," wrote another. esporist.org
Ubi, perhaps inadvisably, is actually responding to some of these reviews, though. The studio's boilerplate response to a bunch of complaints about the game's microtransactions reads as follows:
We've seen your feedback since launch, and we're reading all of it. Thank you for caring this much about Black Flag Resynced. We want to be clear on one point: the standard edition is the full, complete experience. Every mission, every island, the full story and the complete world are all there, with nothing held back. The additional packs are entirely optional extras for players who want them, never a requirement to enjoy or complete the game.
We'll keep listening as you play!
At least one positive review that mentioned the microtransactions got a differently-worded but similar "We hear you" response. "The frustration around day-one DLC is something we take seriously," Ubi said in that one, while reiterating that the game's DLC isn't a 100% necessary purchase.
Which certainly strikes me as a little odd! I can think of two possible explanations here. Either Ubi genuinely thinks people are going to experience some sort of Damascene conversion upon being confronted with the corporation's unassailable logic—which would be very silly—or it's just coating a fairly catty 'You control the buttons you press' response in anodyne marketing speak. Which would also be silly, but at least in a kind of amusing way.
I've not touched the remake myself, but our Rory wasn't happy with how Ubisoft had tried to relentlessly monetise the Black Flag remake when he was playing it. Somehow, I doubt a copy-paste assurance that the DLC isn't necessary to beat the game will make him feel any better about it.
Our reviewer Morgan actually agrees with Ubi that the DLC is entirely ignorable outfits and weapons, but therein lies the tackiness of the whole affair. What's actually annoying, he reckons, is how easy it is to accidentally end up on the store page during normal play—when you press Start to pause, pressing Start again to unpause will actually take you to the store tab. To leave the pause menu, you actually need to hit B/Circle. Diabolical stuff.
Black Flag Resynced new content: How to access
Black Flag Resynced treasure maps: Solve each one
Black Flag Resynced outfits: Dress to kill
Black Flag Resynced Mayan Stones: All locations
Black Flag Resynced Data Fragments: Animus projects
Cutting off Erling Haaland is key but Norway are not just a one-man team | Emma Hayes
England need to be wary of a united Ståle Solbakken side who know their strengths before the World Cup quarter-final
England fans are going to have to be really patient on Saturday night because this World Cup quarter-final against Norway will feel like a grind and I would not be surprised if the match goes the full distance and we see 120 close-fought minutes. Let me be clear: this will not be an easy game and do not expect it to be played at a fast pace.
With a weapon like Erling Haaland, Norway are a dangerous team to face. The crucial thing England have to do, tactically, is try to starve Haaland of service, because if that ball arrives in his proximity and he is given half a chance, you know it is going into the back of the net. He doesn’t need many chances because he’s so clinical. England have to work so hard to deny him service.
Continue reading...Jannik Sinner og Alexander Zverev møtes igjen i Wimbledon-finalen på søndag
Jannik Sinner har tatt revansje mot Novak Djokovic i Wimbledon-semifinalen: etter det noe overraskende tapet mot Nole i Australian Open-semifinalen tidligere i år (første gang Djokovic slo Sinner siden 2023, med fem tap siden), har Sinner nå slått Djokovic i to strake sett og er klar for Wimbledon-finalen, der han er favoritt til å forsvare tittelen.
Tidligere satte Alexander Zverev en stopper for Arthur Ferys eventyr: etter å ha blitt tvunget ut i tiebreak, som Zverev vant 7–0, avfeide tyskeren raskt den britiske spilleren og sikret seg plassen som verdens nr. 2 innen mandag, uansett hva som skjer: Carlos Alcaraz vil forbli skadet til minst midten av august.
I finalen, søndag 12. juli, er Sinner den store favoritten: sist Zverev slo Sinner var i 2023; siden den gang har Sinner slått ham ni ganger... uten å tape et eneste sett i de siste seks kampene.
Zverev, som aldri tidligere har nådd semifinalen i Wimbledon, er imidlertid motivert etter seieren i Roland Garros. Vil tyskeren gi mer fra seg denne gangen?
Vinícius Jr. sier han er lei seg etter nok en skuffende innsats for Brasil i VM
Brasil endte opp med å bli en skuffelse i VM, da de ble slått ut i åttendedelsfinalen mot Norge. Dette er deres dårligste resultat noensinne i turneringen (de har alltid nådd minst kvartfinalen siden de endte i samme runde i Italia i 1990). Vinícius Jr., som endte opp som en av lagets beste spillere etter å ha scoret fire mål og levert én målgivende pasning, har nå sendt ut en uttalelse der han sier at han er lei seg.
«Jeg så så mange mennesker i alle aldre som støttet meg og omfavnet drømmen vår, at det ville være urettferdig å forholde seg taus. Men jeg trengte noen dager til å tenke meg om», skrev han, og la til at det har gått fire år, og at han fremdeles må tenke over hva han skal skrive etter en skuffelse, samt at han følte at de hadde et godt lag som kunne ha prestert bedre.
Frustrasjonen er overveldende. Vi hadde en tropp som var sterk nok til å oppnå mer, men vi klarte det ikke. Jeg ber om unnskyldning, og jeg skal kjempe for drømmen vår om å komme tilbake til toppen av verden.»
Til tross for fiaskoen forventes det at Carlo Ancelotti vil fortsette som trener for det brasilianske landslaget: Brasil forlenget kontrakten hans i mai 2026 til etter FIFA-VM i 2030.