Comments 788

Re: Shadow of the Tomb Raider's Already on Sale on the EU PS Store

Bonbonetti

That doesn't mean much. Lots of newly released games are sold at a discount in online retail stores, if the digital version's price is the benchmark. They probably realized the digital version of the game is not selling as well as the physical version, and want to adjust for that.The exact same thing happened with F1 2018, to use a completely different genre. It also went on digital sale rather quickly.

And most new big games are considerably cheaper on disc through an online retailer (simplygames, base, 365games etc.), than buying it digitally. The new Spider-Man game costs €60 if I buy the digital version, while the retail one costs me €52 (new). Even bigger, Dragon Quest XI costs me €52 from the digital store, while a new disc version will only cost me €40, that's €12 off.

The retail version of AC Odyssey (new) set me back €51, while the digital version would have cost me €66, ... which one did you think I bought?! So, like I said, I think this has more to do with the game selling well in retail but not in it's digital form.

As a side-note: Tomb Raider (2013) has sold more than 11 million copies, Rise of the Tomb Raider has sold 7 million, and Shadow will most likely match that (ref: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-11-27-east-meets-west-yosuke-matsuda-on-growing-square-enixs-global-empire). These are not bad figures, unless you [bizarelly] expect to match FIFA, Call of Duty or the latest trending Battle-Royale game

Re: Obsidian Entertainment Likely to Leave PlayStation Behind

Bonbonetti

It doesn't really affect me that much, I can always buy their games on PC. My main concern, however, is that MS would not allow Obsidian games to be sold elsewhere but on the MS store, meaning they won't be sold on Steam/GOG/Humble etc.

Competition is ultimately good. There should either be no platform-exclusive studios whatsoever, or there should be lots of them. I prefer the former.

Re: Guide: Best Assassin's Creed Games Ranked

Bonbonetti

My order would be:
1. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
2. Assassin's Creed II
3. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate
5. Assassin's Creed Unity
6. Assassin's Creed III
7. Assassin's Creed Rogue
8. Assassin's Creed: Revelations
9. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
10. Assassin's Creed Origins
11. Assassin's Creed

I really enjoy the latest ones, but I guess prefer the more typical style. I'm very much biased towards this franchise, so it would take a lot for me to not like an AC game. I like Chronicles and the off-shoots as well, but I count them differently from the other games.

Re: Could Call of Juarez: Gunslinger Be Making a Comeback?

Bonbonetti

The first two games were awesome. The third one was OK, I liked the twist you got from choosing a different character to play as. The first two games though, were very unique. Between them my favorite is the first one, I actually replayed it a year ago on PC after finding a DRM-free version.

Re: Tons of Fallout 76 Gameplay Drops Online

Bonbonetti

@get2sammyb I agree. The target market for this is PC, it's where these kind of games are most popular. So naturally it will be the platform they prioritize, the platform that gets the most stable version. Sometimes it's the other way around. They should not sell it on console until they have a really good version of the game.

From your description it doesn't even seem like a well-thought-out multiplayer game. Maybe they are hoping the gamers will turn it into a Battle Royale game on their own; let the players do the work.

Re: Xenon Racer Brings 90s Arcade Goodness to PS4

Bonbonetti

Underserviced? I would care to disagree: Need for Speed Rivals, Need for Speed Payback, The Crew, The Crew 2, FlatOut 4, Trackmania Turbo, Trials Fusion, Gravel, Burnout Paradise, Driveclub, Horizon Chase Turbo, Baja Edge of Control, Carmageddon Max Damage, Mantis Burn Racing, Onrush, Moto Racer 4, Redout, Riptide GP, Riptide GP2, V-Rally 4, All-Star Fruit Racing, Lightfield, Race Arcade, WipEout ... plus a few others I haven't actually played.

Just because one does not look does not mean it's not there.

Xenon Racer looks awesome by the way, had no idea it existed, so thanks for posting!

Re: The Witcher Author Demands $16 Million from CD Projekt Red

Bonbonetti

I wouldn't be surprised whichever way this goes, unscrupulous companies are not exactly unheard of, and we don't know the details of the agreement they had with him. He could very well be justified some payment. On the other hand, the world is certainly not lacking in people with dumb claims. I guess we just have to wait to find out.

Re: Guide: New PS4 Games Releasing in October 2018

Bonbonetti

@Giygas_95 In the first Red Dead game you didn't have to grind for anything, you could if you wanted to of-course. However, I never really did that, I just did the side- and main-missions.

I think RD2 will be the same as GTA V in that you can grind a much as you want, they give you that option, but if you just want the fun parts (story + action) you can do that as well.

Re: Guide: New PS4 Games Releasing in October 2018

Bonbonetti

Call of Cthulhu. It's been a long time since I last played what I consider to be a "proper" Cthulhu-based game, and this is just the thing I've been wishing for.

Stranded Deep ! This is exactly the kind of survival game I'm interested in playing. I'm so glad they're bringing it to the PS4.

Fortunately I get my salary in-between these two games, so I'm set on getting both.

I've become increasingly charmed by Red Dead 2. I wasn't at first but the uniqueness of it has sort of become an obsession in my mind, ... not sure I will buy it at launch though.

Post-edit: I have actually just pre-ordered Call of Cthulhu, I found a great offer in a local store.

Re: Player Data Paints Damning Picture of Telltale's Efforts

Bonbonetti

@Rob_230 That seems to be the case. Even some of the streamers I know of have, in hindsight, voiced the same concern with streaming games like these.

I think for some games, in specific genres, game streamers will only have a positive influence on sales, as with most of strategy, survival- and battle-royale games. For story-driven genres it's probably the opposite, going by these charts.

The concern for me is that these kind of games are not seen as having much of any value, since the gameplay mechanics are not elaborate.

Re: Player Data Paints Damning Picture of Telltale's Efforts

Bonbonetti

Surprising, I had the impression they were selling really well, since their games were quite popular with streamers.

The problem was not the format in my opinion, but the lack of unique and interesting stories. Borderlands, Game of Thrones, Batman, Minecraft, Guardians ... these are not particularly new and exciting ideas, in the way Wolf Among Us was.

If they had kept it fresh with stories we haven't really seen or heard of before, they could have maintained a steady base of consumers.

Re: Poll: Do You Care About Cross-Play Now That It's Available on PS4?

Bonbonetti

The Kotaku/Polygon-driven media have a habit of complaining big about tiny things, the staff is then picked up by conservative "consumer choice" groups who make it their own issue. All just to fish in those views and angry comments. It's probably the only time the left-wing media inadvertently collaborates with the right-wing media.

These people don't actually care about crossplay, they are simply in the business of creating and selling controversy.

Re: DiRT Rally 2.0 Announced, Races to PS4 in February

Bonbonetti

Any new Dirt game is good news in my ears. Now I just need another Grid game, ... Autosport 2.0 or something. I really hope DR2 will feature more locations though, that was my main issue with first game, it was stingy for a modern rally game, even McRae 2005 had more.

I don't think Dirt Rally 2.0 will ever be as popular as the first game though, so I hope CM won't bank everything on this. The first game attracted a tonne of people who were only attracted to the fad of it, it was fashionable to play Dirt Rally.

Don't want to end on a sour note. I'm excited for this new game, this is great news!.

Re: Dragon Quest XI Must Sell Well in the West if Future Games Are to Make it Overseas, Says Square

Bonbonetti

I'm not convinced at all that most people who bought Spider-Man or Tomb Raider would have the slightest interest in Dragon Quest. So the release window is not the big issue in my eyes. The main problem is the declining popularity of JRPGs in the West, at least this classic or old-school style. I feel that Western audiences are not as interested in Japanese-style games as they used to.

It's the same pattern with classic-styled PC RPGs. There are spikes there as well, as with Pillars of Eternity and Divinity Original Sin becoming really popular and selling well, but you don't hear of the other dozen or so classic-style PC RPGs released in the same period of time. A few become very popular and sell well, but the vast majority do not.

Games that are more old-school, especially those with bigger budgets (i.e. not Indie) have to work harder to find a bigger audience, because people are more picky when the games are more expensive.

Re: Red Dead Redemption 2 Details Hunting and Fishing, New Screenshots Released

Bonbonetti

I remember those cougars, instant kill monsters ...

I never got into hunting in the first game, but if the game-world is really nice and there's a good reason to collect money (i.e. lots of cool stuff to buy), I might enjoy this stuff. In the first game there just wasn't much to spend your money on, so there wasn't enough reason to hunt. Besides, doing the bounties were more fun anyway.

Re: Is Codemasters Teasing DiRT Rally 2?

Bonbonetti

If it has more content than before, especially stage rally locations, I'd be rather excited for a new game.

It makes sense in a way, Dirt Rally is their most successful game in recent years. However, I'm not convinced most "hardcore racing" fans of first game are still around, they have probably moved on to Fortnite, PUBG, Scum or something.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 238

Bonbonetti

@R1spam Read Dead is easily my favourite R* game. The characters, the story, the visuals, the atmosphere, … not to mention the gameplay, it's so unique and different from anything else, even today.

Did you get the expansion as well, Undead Nightmare? I thought it was fun, but would have preferred a more typical extension to the core storyline.

Re: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Looks Fast and Brutal in New PS4 Gameplay

Bonbonetti

@jdv95 Too many people associate a faster pace with 'easier'. If the gamepace is slow, it must be a more difficult game they would argue. From the videos I've seen by EpicNameBro and similar, people who have actually played a demo of the game, Sekiro is just as challenging as the DS and BB games. Being published by Activision also seems to have rubbed lots of people the wrong way.

The thing is, if this game actually was easier and less frustrating than DS and BB, I would be interested in playing it. Yet from what I've seen and heard, it's not any easier at all, (i.e. just as frustrating to me). Hence my lack of excitement for it.

Re: Review: Transference (PS4)

Bonbonetti

I was hoping it would be a bit more sci-fi, like a new 'Observer'. When I first heard about the premise my expectations were quite different from the finished product. It's narrated really well though, in an interesting way. I think much of the story is indirect, like the child's writing on the walls.

Re: Rumour: The Elder Scrolls VI: Redfall Could Be the Full Title of Bethesda's In-Development RPG

Bonbonetti

@suikoden I respectfully disagree, it's two very different styles of RPG, with a focus on different things. Elder Scrolls follows the traditional dungeon crawling of classic PC rpgs, while the Witcher series follows a more European action-rpg tradition.

Looking at each franchise the Witcher series has much stronger emphasis on story, characters and narrative. The Elder Scrolls have a much stronger emphasis on exploration, customizing/designing your own experience, and sheer game-world scale.

Re: UK Sales Charts: Spider-Man PS4 Targets God of War as Tomb Raider Stalls

Bonbonetti

I really like Shadow as well, I think they focused on the right things with this game; more on the Adventure bit, less on the Action bit. A modern Tomb Raider game is a more acquired taste than a Spider-Man game, so I don't expect it to outsell the arthropod anytime soon. However, Shadow is available on all platforms, not just one, so it will probably outsell Spider-Man eventually. I hope both are really successful. We need good PS4 exclusives and this encourages more of them, but I also like these modern Tomb Raider games and want them to do well (so I get more of those).

I don't get the Spider-Man vs Tomb Raider thinking so many people seem to have. This BS happens everytime a new popular PS4 exclusive comes along. It's as if they are fighting some imaginary war or something, and people have to defend their game by trash-talking the other: 'I like this one, therefore I must hate the other one'. This behavior happens on all platforms and all kinds of games.

The dumbest comment I've heard about Spider-Man so far is: 'why is this not on PC?'. The simple answer that many streamers don't seem to get is: 'because Sony paid for the game, it's a custom-made game for their specific system'. There's nothing unethical about this. It's like ordering a custom-made pizza, suit or car.