@get2sammyb In a world of different opinions. I think it looks frightfully generic and agree that there's a level of aesthetic that comes across as cheap.
Considering how marginalised driving games have become in the last ten years and longer I wonder whether all the interest is more curiosity about it being a well known Xbox game rather than a change in tastes.
@Skeletor85 You dont need a high IQ to say that having Meryl's character arc end with her marrying a guy who's sole purpose in the series is to fabric splatter his undergarments with a gooey paste was utterly ridiculous. It's fine to think he's as talented as he is terrible. That's what makes him interesting.
Puppeteer on a 3D TV was a unique and wonderful experience which became one of my personal highlights of that entire generation.
It saddens me that it never found more of a fanbase.
@Zeke68 Er what? You have to progress through the game to unlock those weapons. You only start with the handgun. If you can't progress through a level to unlock any new weapon types, let alone upgrade them then that's not bad design.
@Zeke68 I beat it with Dreadbound, Hollowseeker, Electropylon Driver, Tachyomatic Carbine, Rotgland Lobber and the Thermogenic Launcher and only swapping out like for like on every run. It's your technique in regards to movement and positioning that got me through every time. Alot of the aiming doesn't have to be inch perfect precision either so the weapon's strength isn't essential to progression.
Anyway the point is that it was a personal preference. If you didn't like it then fair enough. I however, did like the ruthlessness.
Must admit I liked the stubborn refusal to pander to your inadequacies in Returnal. Once I mastered it though, I basically annihilated every enemy in the game. The natural arc of video game progression meant a huge payoff.
By ye Gods Sony couldn't you just let Xbox have Ape Escape and not be so pedantic? You're not exactly doing anything with most of your dormant back catalogue and I doubt the PC audience is clamouring for some cheeky monkey business.
They really should get Asobi to animate Astro as the host introducing all these games. That way I would stay awake due to his jovial chirping. At least Housemarque haven't been tasked with a rubbish GaaS title and are bringing their bullet hell expertise back to salvage a very thin first party line up.
@Jswift56 Sony's State of Play events are the box that holds Schrodinger's cat aka the Bloodborne remaster. It merely exists in a probabilistic state and only when the State of Play occurs can we confirm the non existence of the remaster...yet again.
Finally went back to grab the Platinum for Returnal and spent 15hrs trying to find the last cipher. Sounds annoying until you realise that it just meant playing more Returnal. Doom Eternal shares the same fantastic gameplay. Spatial awareness and an emphasis on movement is essential. Both have that wonderful style of video game mechanical art that sometimes feels lost to 'realism'. One where, once it clicks and you're in the zone, there's not many games that feel better to play.
There will definitely, unequivocally, most certainly, without the slightest shadow of a quark sized doubt that a Bloodborne remastered remake will be announced for PS5.
I have a feeling like Griswald does in National Lampoons when his boss gives him a one year enrollment in the 'Jelly Of The Month' instead of his Christmas bonus.
@PegasusActual93 MGS5 was an obvious unfinished mess due to the split with Konami which meant a lot of exposition dumps were simply missing and Death Stranding contains plenty of overly long cut scenes with the finale on the beach being 40 mins worth of Kojima excess. I like his work but I also wish he'd offer exposition that isnt just told in a tediously long, non interactive cut scene which induces paralysis in the flow of the gameplay.
If no-one has advised Kojima to reign in his cut scene over indulgences then I'll pass on this. The ending of the original game was far too elongated than it needed to be.
@Drago201 A great existential crisis is coming for these crusaders when they get what yearn for. Much like the conundrum of how to avoid boredom in a utopia these folk will face an ever deepening reality that they've nothing to offer once the holy land is reached. Peddling the same tripe in a world they willingly ushered in isn't going to lead anywhere but the job centre.
Nintendo is arguably the worst, certainly when you factor how pedantic they can be in other areas. There are some geniunely creepy titles in amongst all that detritus too, and for a 'family friendly' company I find it odd that they pass the review system.
Burnout 3 is widely regarded as the best arcade racer ever and yet EA eventually saw fit to task Criterion with pursuing the vastly inferior NFS games.or being support devs for other projects. Even the fabulous riot that was Black never saw a follow up.
The absurdity of this is that it takes barely 10 minutes to set up an Hong Kong account, buy a HK PSN code off Playasia, purchase a game with a English dub and then download it straight to your PS5. You can also collect the trophies if you just play it on your main account.
@Vaako007 You're well within your right to enjoy it and I won't begrudge you your enjoyment. However, I personally see it as hideously dated. For a company that thrives on sandbox game worlds and hyper realistic physics Rockstar's mission structure is ruthlessly linear to the point of absurdity. At no point does the game have confidence in the player to approach a mission uniquely so they are railroaded into playing each mission exactly how Rockstar want you to, with any resistance from you met with a 'Mission Failed' screen.
@Rich33 I'm not a graphics wh$@e but it's pretty horrendous when you see it in person. Much like Remake it stiill has rather offensive texture pop in too with some of the rock faces never even making the effort to turn up at all. It's bizarre because the cut scenes look phenomenal, but when you're 'in game' it's so easy to spot where corners were cut or UE4 assets were simply plonked in place with no finesse. I (slightly pedantic) took umbrage in the choice of font usage for a lot of the shops and stalls too. It just looks as if it was slapped on with no depth or shade to the area it's mean to cover. I mostly enjoyed the game, barring the terrible ending, but there are numerous times when it feels like the whole thing is being held together with staples.
@Rich33 Pro upgrade is the only way to enjoy 60fps with clean, crisp visuals. They added a sharper option in the base performance mode, whilst keeping the terrible original option too for some reason, and it still looks horribly blurred. I had to play it in 30fps due to how bad it was (and still is)
@Lightworker It's not that die hard fans want it to play exactly like the original in terms of plot beats but nearly everything new they've added is either superfluous or in some cases outright bad. Many sections are unnecessarily padded out and characters like Chadley or Roche feel like they've jumped in from a different dimension thematically (Roche utterly sucks)
The mind numbing ending of Rebirth was the nail in the coffin in terms of my anticipation for the third game. It was so poorly written, tone deaf and over the top that I've no hope that they can salvage the narrative arc in the finale.
Comments 406
Re: This Trailer for HBO's The Last of Us Season 2 May Be An All-Time Great
@get2sammyb In a world of different opinions. I think it looks frightfully generic and agree that there's a level of aesthetic that comes across as cheap.
Re: The Order: 1886 Honoured in Today's New Astro Bot PS5 Level
@Shadeon_Koopa 30.966 is the best I've gotten. God knows where the top runners are shaving the other 5 secs off
Re: The Order: 1886 Honoured in Today's New Astro Bot PS5 Level
You've just ruined my evening's speed run challenge
Re: Japan Sales Charts: PS5 Sells Over 100k Consoles in a Week as Monster Hunter Wilds Explodes
@ChrisDeku The total of one classroom is all the Series X sold???
Ouch.
Re: 'Don't Bet' on The Last of Us 3, Warns Neil Druckmann
Even Nietzsche had zero sympathy for the nihilist. Two was enough for me so I'm happy this series is done with.
Re: PS5 Players Drive Xbox's Forza Horizon 5 to the Top of the PS Store Pre-Order Charts All Around the World
Considering how marginalised driving games have become in the last ten years and longer I wonder whether all the interest is more curiosity about it being a well known Xbox game rather than a change in tastes.
Re: Monster Hunter Wilds Breaks Records within Hours of Releasing
Wilds' wild player numbers are indicative of a successfully wild worldwide release
Re: 'Expect the Unexpected' in Anticipated PS5 Exclusive Death Stranding 2
@Skeletor85 You dont need a high IQ to say that having Meryl's character arc end with her marrying a guy who's sole purpose in the series is to fabric splatter his undergarments with a gooey paste was utterly ridiculous.
It's fine to think he's as talented as he is terrible. That's what makes him interesting.
Re: 'Expect the Unexpected' in Anticipated PS5 Exclusive Death Stranding 2
It's Kojima so I fully expect the expected.
Re: Sony Japan Studio Closed Because AA Market 'Disappeared', Says Shu Yoshida
Puppeteer on a 3D TV was a unique and wonderful experience which became one of my personal highlights of that entire generation.
It saddens me that it never found more of a fanbase.
Re: Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - Tape 1 (PS5) - Slow Burn Opener Means Part 2 Must Deliver
Naff Co 54 coats sum up the 90s perfectly.
Re: FromSoftware Plans to Flog Characters, Bosses as Elden Ring Nightreign DLC
@Czar_Khastik I'll bet a Swiss Franc or two that Sony will be pedantic enough to keep Bloodborne content exclusive to Playstation.
Re: FromSoftware Plans to Flog Characters, Bosses as Elden Ring Nightreign DLC
There's a cow that needs milking.
Re: Tides of Annihilation Proving Popular After State of Play Reveal
@Veritas7Ax The voice actress also played Shadowheart in Balder's Gate 3.
Re: Poll: What Were Your Favourite PS5 Games from State of Play?
Saros. Its Housemarque so I'm expecting some S tier gunplay. Really cant wait to see the balletic bullet hell lightshow in action.
Re: 5 More Astro Bot PS5 Levels Coming for Free, First Is Out Today
A Bloodborne themed level to celebrate it's 10th anniversary might've been a bit too cheeky.
Would be great to wield the Saw Cleaver though.
Re: Housemarque's New PS5 Game Will Be a Little Less Punishing Than Returnal
@Zeke68 Er what? You have to progress through the game to unlock those weapons. You only start with the handgun. If you can't progress through a level to unlock any new weapon types, let alone upgrade them then that's not bad design.
Re: Housemarque's New PS5 Game Will Be a Little Less Punishing Than Returnal
@Zeke68 I beat it with Dreadbound, Hollowseeker, Electropylon Driver, Tachyomatic Carbine, Rotgland Lobber and the Thermogenic Launcher and only swapping out like for like on every run. It's your technique in regards to movement and positioning that got me through every time. Alot of the aiming doesn't have to be inch perfect precision either so the weapon's strength isn't essential to progression.
Anyway the point is that it was a personal preference. If you didn't like it then fair enough. I however, did like the ruthlessness.
Re: Housemarque's New PS5 Game Will Be a Little Less Punishing Than Returnal
Must admit I liked the stubborn refusal to pander to your inadequacies in Returnal. Once I mastered it though, I basically annihilated every enemy in the game. The natural arc of video game progression meant a huge payoff.
Re: MGS Delta: Snake Eater's Ape Escape Mode Is a PS5, PC Exclusive, But Xbox Also Has a Mode of Its Own
By ye Gods Sony couldn't you just let Xbox have Ape Escape and not be so pedantic? You're not exactly doing anything with most of your dormant back catalogue and I doubt the PC audience is clamouring for some cheeky monkey business.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Sony's State of Play for February 2025?
They really should get Asobi to animate Astro as the host introducing all these games. That way I would stay awake due to his jovial chirping.
At least Housemarque haven't been tasked with a rubbish GaaS title and are bringing their bullet hell expertise back to salvage a very thin first party line up.
Re: State of Play Confirmed for Wednesday, 40+ Minutes of PS5 News and Updates
It's pretty much obvious that this will be the SoP where we finally get that 8k/480fps patch for Bloodborne 7.
Re: All Eyes on Rumoured State of Play Later This Week
@Jswift56 Sony's State of Play events are the box that holds Schrodinger's cat aka the Bloodborne remaster. It merely exists in a probabilistic state and only when the State of Play occurs can we confirm the non existence of the remaster...yet again.
Re: Best Sci-Fi Games on PS5
@HRdepartment Still the best game (on any platform) in the last 10 years for me.
Re: Best Sci-Fi Games on PS5
Finally went back to grab the Platinum for Returnal and spent 15hrs trying to find the last cipher. Sounds annoying until you realise that it just meant playing more Returnal.
Doom Eternal shares the same fantastic gameplay. Spatial awareness and an emphasis on movement is essential. Both have that wonderful style of video game mechanical art that sometimes feels lost to 'realism'. One where, once it clicks and you're in the zone, there's not many games that feel better to play.
Re: All Eyes on Rumoured State of Play Later This Week
There will definitely, unequivocally, most certainly, without the slightest shadow of a quark sized doubt that a Bloodborne remastered remake will be announced for PS5.
Re: Free PS Plus Extension for All Members Affected by PSN Outage
I have a feeling like Griswald does in National Lampoons when his boss gives him a one year enrollment in the 'Jelly Of The Month' instead of his Christmas bonus.
Re: PS Plus Premium Subscribers Offered Free LEGO Horizon Demo
So people now don't want smaller AA games?
Re: Death Stranding 2 Edges Closer to PS5 Release with New Age Rating
@PegasusActual93 MGS5 was an obvious unfinished mess due to the split with Konami which meant a lot of exposition dumps were simply missing and Death Stranding contains plenty of overly long cut scenes with the finale on the beach being 40 mins worth of Kojima excess.
I like his work but I also wish he'd offer exposition that isnt just told in a tediously long, non interactive cut scene which induces paralysis in the flow of the gameplay.
Re: Death Stranding 2 Edges Closer to PS5 Release with New Age Rating
If no-one has advised Kojima to reign in his cut scene over indulgences then I'll pass on this. The ending of the original game was far too elongated than it needed to be.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Player Count Dwarfs Every Medieval Battle in History
@Drago201 A great existential crisis is coming for these crusaders when they get what yearn for. Much like the conundrum of how to avoid boredom in a utopia these folk will face an ever deepening reality that they've nothing to offer once the holy land is reached. Peddling the same tripe in a world they willingly ushered in isn't going to lead anywhere but the job centre.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Player Count Dwarfs Every Medieval Battle in History
KCD 2 is seeing Agincourt levels of success.
Re: Report Investigates Why PS5's Store Is Still Drowning in 'Eslop'
Nintendo is arguably the worst, certainly when you factor how pedantic they can be in other areas. There are some geniunely creepy titles in amongst all that detritus too, and for a 'family friendly' company I find it odd that they pass the review system.
Re: Returnal Inspired Anime Shooter Scar-Lead Salvation Skipping PS5, PS4 in the West
@Flaming_Kaiser Yeah I forgot that all discs are region free so you don't even need a Jap/HK account.
Re: Need for Speed Series Isn't Dead, But Dev Now Fully Focused on Battlefield
Burnout 3 is widely regarded as the best arcade racer ever and yet EA eventually saw fit to task Criterion with pursuing the vastly inferior NFS games.or being support devs for other projects.
Even the fabulous riot that was Black never saw a follow up.
Re: Returnal Inspired Anime Shooter Scar-Lead Salvation Skipping PS5, PS4 in the West
The absurdity of this is that it takes barely 10 minutes to set up an Hong Kong account, buy a HK PSN code off Playasia, purchase a game with a English dub and then download it straight to your PS5. You can also collect the trophies if you just play it on your main account.
Re: Feature: What We Saw and Played at Taipei Game Show 2025
Is there a chance Team Asobi could give us a Momo Bot bedecked in fashionable attire?
Re: GTA 5 Actor Wants Trevor in GTA 6 So He Can Be Killed Properly
I spent most of GTA5 throwing him out of helicopters solely to watch this insufferable character die.
Re: Hermen Hulst No Longer PlayStation Co-CEO, Still in Charge of First-Party
@nomither6 I've a degree in uttering terrible jokes. Hence the zero likes!! 😥
Re: Silent Hill 2 Has Been Massively Successful on PS5, PC
It's an excellent remake of an all time classic so much rejoicing is to be had that Bloober truly pulled it off.
Re: Hermen Hulst No Longer PlayStation Co-CEO, Still in Charge of First-Party
Gustav Herman Hulst's 'Concord,The Bringer of Low Player Counts'
Re: You'll Need to Wait a Little Longer for Dead or Alive's Dating Game on PS5, PS4
I can see why the team embraced the possibility of rebranding themselves as Tickle The Trigger.
Re: Mailbox: The Joy of Astro Bot, Ciri in The Witcher 4, and Terrible Trophy Lists
Nice to see the community engage with the mailbox idea in a positive way.
Re: Stop Guessing GTA 6 Trailer 2 Release Date, Demands Red Dead Redemption 2 Voice Actor
@Vaako007 You're well within your right to enjoy it and I won't begrudge you your enjoyment. However, I personally see it as hideously dated. For a company that thrives on sandbox game worlds and hyper realistic physics Rockstar's mission structure is ruthlessly linear to the point of absurdity. At no point does the game have confidence in the player to approach a mission uniquely so they are railroaded into playing each mission exactly how Rockstar want you to, with any resistance from you met with a 'Mission Failed' screen.
Re: You May Not Need to Upgrade to PS6 for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, Says Producer
@Rich33 Super glue could be trusted to keep my pantaloons from falling down in public. Staples would expose my inadequacies!
Re: You May Not Need to Upgrade to PS6 for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, Says Producer
@Rich33 I'm not a graphics wh$@e but it's pretty horrendous when you see it in person. Much like Remake it stiill has rather offensive texture pop in too with some of the rock faces never even making the effort to turn up at all. It's bizarre because the cut scenes look phenomenal, but when you're 'in game' it's so easy to spot where corners were cut or UE4 assets were simply plonked in place with no finesse. I (slightly pedantic) took umbrage in the choice of font usage for a lot of the shops and stalls too. It just looks as if it was slapped on with no depth or shade to the area it's mean to cover.
I mostly enjoyed the game, barring the terrible ending, but there are numerous times when it feels like the whole thing is being held together with staples.
Re: You May Not Need to Upgrade to PS6 for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, Says Producer
@Rich33 Pro upgrade is the only way to enjoy 60fps with clean, crisp visuals. They added a sharper option in the base performance mode, whilst keeping the terrible original option too for some reason, and it still looks horribly blurred. I had to play it in 30fps due to how bad it was (and still is)
Re: Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced, Slashes to PS5 This Year with PlatinumGames Co-Developing
Looks utterly fantastic
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Story Now Complete, Game Is on Schedule
@Lightworker It's not that die hard fans want it to play exactly like the original in terms of plot beats but nearly everything new they've added is either superfluous or in some cases outright bad. Many sections are unnecessarily padded out and characters like Chadley or Roche feel like they've jumped in from a different dimension thematically (Roche utterly sucks)
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Story Now Complete, Game Is on Schedule
The mind numbing ending of Rebirth was the nail in the coffin in terms of my anticipation for the third game. It was so poorly written, tone deaf and over the top that I've no hope that they can salvage the narrative arc in the finale.