@get2sammyb Unfortunately it is also a big reason why the Wii U did so poorly, how many times did you see it refered to as a kids console? The problem seems to be that people make the mistake of thinking of a game that has an age rating for everyone as meaning the same as it is a game for kids. Give me a well crafted game over another corridor shooter bloodbath any day.
@BAMozzy I find it funny you list you'd rather play Duke Nukem over Tearaway, a game with humour that only a pre pubescent teen would enjoy, on the grounds of one being aimed at kids. I also notice when you listed animation for adults you missed out South Park, the show that is based on the original's stop motion papercraft animation.
@themcnoisy EA Access is £20/year and the other prices you quote would be the $ prices not £ so you're a bit out on the amount, but I get your point.
Personally I would say I wasn't bothered about the services being offered if I thought it wouldn't lead to something else (worse) down the road. With online play tied to subscriptions on consoles now I can only suspiciously eye these new initiatives as embryonic plans to change the ways we consume games and, ultimately, maximise a companies profits to our detriment.
I recently got a survey from them asking why I had stopped my plus subscription and then got sent a free month so I'm beginning to wonder if plus isn't performing as well as they expect with these kinds of things popping up, might just be coincidence.
@rjejr While I'd never advise buying a season pass without knowing what was in it, I can at least think of the Borderlands 2 season pass as one that was worthwhile as something other than The Witcher.
Had some interest in it on the Wii U, but it was pretty hard to find stock, and even harder to find it reasonably priced. By the time it went budget I had lost my drive to play it. Full price on PS4 seems a bit optimistic to me, but as it's Lego it'll probably do reasonably well. As for me, I believe that is the release date for Persona 5 so it has no chance now.
I still kind of wish they'd stuck to their guns and refused to remake FF7. As a business it is a license to print money for them, but it could also sully one of their shinning star's name. I hope it turns out well, but I don't have the faith I had in Square back in the PS1/2 era anymore and Bravely Default proved doing what you know well is often better than trying to appeal to a new group of players.
If they are dropping support for most platforms due to low uptake then that is a pretty bad reason to do so. Most people I know don't see the service as offering value so wouldn't consider subscribing, so that is where Sony needs to focus on this service, value for money. The price either needs to drop or the content needs to be more enticing to get people on board, dropping support will only likely lead to a slow death of the service, but that might be what Sony want for another of their products.
Never enjoyed his videos personally, but to anyone wondering why Disney would acquire something that isn't their trademark kid friendly content you maybe should look a little into their history. For instance Pulp Fiction is a Disney film since they owned Miramax at that time. Then there is Dogma, a film that upset a fair few religious fanatics in its day which also is Disney through the same channels.
As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. The live game thing (live, is that the term they've coined for it?) is OK in moderation, Blizzard have been doing it for a long time well, but I find myself dipping in and out of their games as I see fit. I also expect Blizzard's model will be the gold standard here others will loosely follow, but only while seeing where they can squeeze every last penny out of their customers. As with any of these types of things though companies only look at the profits they see others making and never consider that by doing the same they are potentially fighting for the same customers and will never see the same return they are jealous of the likes of Blizzard getting.
I at least know that know that the indie scene will continue to put out stuff that gamers actually want (and let's face it, they even have "live" games covered in the form of early access). I'm also sure not every big company will follow this model, less competition when releasing new games will only see it be easier for them to make a profit. This kind of thing is always interesting to watch, but sucks when it directly impacts something you enjoy.
It's pretty hard to find anywhere you can pre-order a Switch for release day in the UK at least, but I assume that is the same everywhere, so I doubt this is going to do much to affect Nintendo's initial sales and the offer ends before that console's release anyway.
@CliffordB I'm also in the camp of playing games for fun, not for trophies, but even so a lot of Nintendo games have rewards for completing challenges you may not otherwise have thought of or tried, the difference being they give extra levels, items or those stickers if that's your thing. Xenoblade Chronicles X has in game achievements too, but I've read people don't like that as they're not attached to your account which is just weird. Getting an achievement on PS4 for killing a boss you have to kill to progress always struck me as a bit pointless anyway.
While this approach may sound good to some on paper, we all know that they are doing it so they can milk the highest profits out of each game for relatively little cost. Putting in some new weapons and maybe a new map to a game that is already built to easily allow those who aren't programmers to do so costs a very small fraction of what it costs to develop a new game and it is pretty much risk free.
I expect to see those microtransaction they said wouldn't be in The Division to be more aggressively marketed and be in all their games from now on. I miss the days where you could buy a game safe in the knowledge you had a complete and playable experience in your hands, I'm just waiting for the proverbial straw that will end up putting some of the big names out of business.
@leucocyte Being honest I can only go on what I read as to the performance gains, but the Eurogamer article this one is based on says "Battlefield 4's performance-sapping 64-player online battles also see a vast improvement - we dipped into an intense multiplayer session and saw a marked improvement, representing a vast increase in fluidity over the same map running on the base PS4 hardware"
I don't play anywhere near competitively anymore, but I do know from when I used to play Quake 3 and the UTs that frame rate dips absolutely can affect you negatively. Given that most TVs are at 60Hz refresh rate (or occasionally 120) it means that if the game is running at 45 fps the tv will show a repeating sequence of frame 1, frame 2, frame 3, frame 3 and that double frame is very noticeable and is what causes the judder effect you get in uncapped games that don't hit the 60 or 30 fps target (or capped ones that don't hit their target).
Your ping and so forth is outside of Sony's control, but they did say they would keep multiplayer fair by not allowing the Pro to have a frame rate advantage as even they know that it is advantageous. Most people probably won't care, but for me at least it is another slight change that shows we are still moving further away from a level playing field and what consoles traditionally stood for.
Wouldn't someone who is further in the game know how to beat the boss and be equipped with better items? So wouldn't that make the game easier? I don't really care though, the challenge in these games is to solo them anyway and that will be my prefered way of playing when I pick it up.
One reason that games usually get locked at 30fps if they can't hit a constant 60fps even if they are constantly over, for instance, 40fps is because of screen tearing - if the frame rate is not a multiple of your screens refresh rate then that causes that horrible effect that is truly a penalty in things like multiplayer shooters. On top of this a variable frame rate will make the game not feel as smooth as it should be. A 60fps experience is a huge advantage in multiplayer for Battlefield and something Sony said they wouldn't do with the Pro - the question is how long until we see a Pro only game if they are already going back on their original statement?
@glassmusic That is what I noticed too, Sony were pretty adamant people playing on the Pro would not be given an advantage in multiplayer games, but here we are. I'm not on Plus anymore so it isn't a big thing to me, but I might have felt differently if I had been doing mulltiplayer still and I'm sure it will not go down well with some. As anyone who plays online on the PC will tell you, you prioritise framerate above all else, but with no scaling on the PS4 this isn't an option and will give an advantage to Pro users.
@zimbogamer Personally I'd never pick it up due to the DLC, I hate day 1 DLC, but as this is an early access game it is actually day -xxx DLC. To release DLC for a game you've charged money for and not yet finished is disgusting and should warn you away from dealing with such a company. I'm sure the likes of Capcom, Konami et al are jealous they didn't think of it though
As with any early access game you should only buy it if you're happy with the state it's in now. While Ark isn't my cup of tea I know a lot of people like it, so it isn't that much of a shock it sold well. It also shows that games can still do well without millions poured into advertising. Not sure why this news is somehow worse than CoD or Fifa being the top selling retail game for the xth month running.
I'm guessing the "beta" will be of a stable and enjoyable bit of the game to encourage people to buy it without reviews, but the full game will be medocre at best.
I'd prefer if they put the man hours into making new content. The Persona games a great, but I already played them and the biggest impact a game like that has is when you play them through the first time. If I want to play them again I'm happy to just play the normal versions.
@Lurker No I never backed to that level, I think there were multiple tiers to be in the game, but I was happy with the Torment with Wasteland 2 thrown in tier that was pretty cheap.
Recently they've announced they dropped some of the stretch goals including 3 of the 9 playable characters which sucks a bit. As an apology though they said all future DLC will be free for backers so I hope that works out well and some of that content is extra characters.
I expected this at launch and was a bit surprised it wasn't there, I guess it was down to not wanting to make old PS4 users feel more like second class citizens. As others have said though, without an official patch you'll probably find most games locked to 30 fps without a patch which will have been put there to prevent choppy gameplay from unstable framerate and screen tearing. Any well optimised game will not benefit from this patch, but things like Fallout 4 and Jus Cause may well see improvements.
This is from an earlier interview with Kaz Hirai on PSVR:
"We wanted to make sure we weren't going to upload or frontload a lot of inventory at retail, because then you're going to get this reaction from retail saying well it's not selling through," Kaz continued.
"We've always said it's going to be a slow start, unfortunately, we did produce a lot of units but we ran out of stock in some retailers, but I think based on reports coming out of the holiday season, we're actually happy with the numbers."
That kind of makes it sound like they created an artificial stock shortage (although maybe not deliberately, that depends on how you interpret what is said) so I think that what is being said now is more about marketing than letting us know exactly what went on.
Now we have them saying they had to be careful to not overhype VR, which is fine, but total silence on the issue is the other end of the spectrum where you make potential buyers keep their money in their pockets as they see no confidence from the business selling the item (especially as Sony has a track record of dropping tech that doesn't meet their expectations quickly). It still seems to me PSVR's success will hinge on how it performs in the next few months and Sony's actions will speak louder than their words. They need to get some good titles out over the next few months and show that a large selection of games are in development to be released over the next year or so.
@Lurker I backed the Kickstarter on it so have had the beta for the past 6 months on PC. I've not wanted to spoil my first playthrough though so have only played the first hour of the section given in the beta, but it looks promising from what I have seen. Planescape is one of my all time favourite games so it has a lot to live up to (I think I'm a sucker for melancholic story lines though, so if it does that right it should be good). Now I want to play the rest of the beta...
@johncalmc Thanks! That all sounds really good actually and the game has definitely moved on to my must buy list. The Souls games are some of my favourites and this one sounds both like it is close enough to that formula that I'll like it, yet different enough that I'll get something new out of it. I expected they knew they had a good game on their hands since they sent review copies out for before release, I'm glad they have.
@johncalmc You covered most of the important stuff in the review, as I said I just like reading more on games I like the look of so it is mainly just about fleshing out the review with a bit more detail and maybe the odd anecdote. It isn't needed though and if I was less interested in the game I'd likely prefer the review shorter so it is all good.
A few questions as I missed the betas, is there a magic system and, if so, is it similar to the Dark Souls series? Also you mention the loot being like Borderlands, is this just based on colour coding or because it is abundant? Finally, do the weapons in the game feel distinct from one another and is your moveset based on your weapon, or is it altered through spending xp?
Glad to see this game being well received pretty much everywhere so far. After all the disapointments of last year it's good to see this year starting with a good number of strong titles. Good review, although I agree it'd be nice if the length was a bit longer, but I know that's my personal preference - I always like to read more on games I have interest in.
@Gamer83 I don't think you can blame consumers at all, Square did everything in their power to put off the people who would buy this game. I would have picked up this game if not for the money grabbing from the minute you could pre-order the thing, and the later inclusion of microtransactions just meant it was a definite lost sale from me. You can't blame a consumer for not buying something that they don't see value in or feel it is unethical in the way it treats its target audience, it is all on Square here.
To further the current discussion I see that Jim Sterling has posted another video on a new game on the PS Store, SKYLIGHT FREERANGE 2: GACHDUINE, a game so bad it didn't even get through Steam Greenlight. I fear the floodgates are going to open on these titles soon thanks to general indifference about them and then we will see how many people are still happy to wade through all this rubbish to find anything good.
@kyleforrester87 One problem is their own write up of the game, which is
"Resident Evil 7 biohazard is the next major entry in the renowned Resident Evil series and sets a new course for the franchise as it leverages its roots and opens the door to a truly terrifying horror experience. A dramatic new shift for the series to first person view in a photorealistic style powered by Capcom’s new RE Engine, Resident Evil 7 delivers an unprecedented level of immersion that brings the thrilling horror up close and personal."
That obviously points to them aiming for a game with strong horror elements which Resi 7 obviously isn't (also I question the photorealism claim, but I guess we can just put that down to the standard marketing rubbish).
My problem is more one of the market already has a lot of games that are first person horror shooters, but it lacks in genuinely fear inducing games so, from my perspective, it would have been nice if they'd crafted an experience that favoured the latter rather than the former. I guess that the Resident Evils have never really been big on fear so maybe I shouldn't have expected it, but the build up to this game indicated that was what they were going with which is what is disappointing for me. Going first person could have helped a lot with an immersive horror experience and, without that, it seems a somewhat pointless change to the series to me.
I've only seen footage of the game so far, but to me it looks like Amnesia and Outlast have already set the bar for first person horror and Resi doesn't deliver here. Not saying that makes Resi a bad game, just I was hoping they might go all out on the horror aspect and instead it looks a little more like a first person shooter with mild horror elements.
When the original Resident Evil came out it was relatively ground breaking, we had had the Alone in the Dark series, but Resi was a step up from that. This feels like a step back from the current games in the genre, so I'd only like them to continue in first person if they are willing to advance the genre because, let's face it, recent Resident Evil releases sold well based on the name it built early on, not on the strength of any recent release - if it was a TV series it would have been dropped a long time ago.
@johncalmc I do think that is the main problem here, perception of what curation means in this instance. People see it as an attack on their right to choose rather than the equivalent of a TV store refusing to stock some cheap imported brand of television because the picture quality is terrible and they are prone to break due to poor workmanship and quick build times. Filling the store with rubbish just makes it harder to find the good stuff.
A relatively small team could examine new games and quickly decide whether it is something that has been worked on or just another game that has been made in a day using base assets from a game engine. There would still be a good mix of games on the store, as well as those that aren't classed as stellar, but might get a niche audience. The only difference would be the lack of need to wade through games like Galactic Hitman. Seriously, if anyone needs a reason why curation is good, look that game up on Youtube and after you have a laugh, have a think about having 2 of those pop up every day due to no quality control.
@johncalmc I agree, Jim Sterling makes some great points about why any old rubbish shouldn't be let in. The main reason, for me at least, is what you said in your second to last paragraph, genuinely good games can be easily missed if you allow a sea of dross on your store.
I've used Steam since Half-life 2 forced you to and, for most of that time, when you saw a game pop up you thought you might like the chances were it would at least have a lot of care and attention put into it even if it turned out to be not that good. Now you have literally 100s of games that have been coded (and I use that in the loosest sense of the word) in a weekend and slapped on the store in hopes of making a bit of money before every realises what rubbish it is. Finding the good stuff is a nightmare under this system and genuinely hurts otherwise decent developers.
It seems evident that VR is struggling to gain traction after its initial hype. I never got around to trying it, but did want to as I think one of its major hurdles was portraying a VR experience in a video. Going on how it seems to be used now on the PC (mainly early access and greenlight games), something needs to happen or it will, unfortunately, go the way of most the other failed Playstation peripherals.
@rjejr The funny thing is Sony used to not have a minimum spend back when Microsoft still used points (and probably a little afterwards too). I agree it is an unwelcome policy that can be annoying, in the UK it is a £5 minimum spend too. And yes, Steam do allow small payments (I've literally paid 7p for a game on Steam due to my wallet funds not quite covering it - when the equivalent happens on Sony's store I usually don't bother completing the transaction).
If you need that Lovecraftian itch scratched having seen this I can recommend In the Mouth of Madness, an older Sam Neill film which was passed over by most at release. Last time I looked you could watch it on Youtube
@JaxonH Japan isn't a Christian country so I don't think Christmas would have much of an impact on sales. Unless, bizarrely, we were talking about KFC. Seriously, look it up
It's number one in the UK charts above even Fifa, so it can't be all that bad. Black Ops 3 was £20 on Amazon also around this time last year (can't remember if it was just before or after Christmas) so price drops are also not new to the franchise. I'd take it more as a demo release to drum up a few more sales before Christmas and to put it in to people's mind as an option for any Christmas money they might get.
Having said that I can't see a series that has released new iterations every year for what seems like forever not to be suffering from people having series fatigue from it. No amount of marketing is going to help with that though, only true innovation will.
I usually wait a while these days before buying a game anyway so this will be a bonus, not only do I get a fully patched game for cheaper than I would at release, I also get extra and (hopefully) better content.
I'd assume FFI-IX would be just straight ports and as they are already available on Vita on the PS store it isn't that much of a stretch to see some sort of collector's edition of all of these released. They are also often on sale at £4 each so a £60-70 retail package with extras seems reasonable. Not too sure why that one is so far fetched?
A big part of the first game is the bond you build with Ellie as Joel as well as how it fits in with who Joel is. I'm not so sure making Ellie the main player character is such a good move though and would have preferred to see a continuation of how life had changed for Joel and the repercussions of his decisions in the first game. They tried the switch in TWD season 2 and not many people talk about that game when compared to the first as it loses something when you are the character you've been trying to protect.
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Re: PlayStation Plus March Games Revealed
@get2sammyb Unfortunately it is also a big reason why the Wii U did so poorly, how many times did you see it refered to as a kids console? The problem seems to be that people make the mistake of thinking of a game that has an age rating for everyone as meaning the same as it is a game for kids. Give me a well crafted game over another corridor shooter bloodbath any day.
@BAMozzy I find it funny you list you'd rather play Duke Nukem over Tearaway, a game with humour that only a pre pubescent teen would enjoy, on the grounds of one being aimed at kids. I also notice when you listed animation for adults you missed out South Park, the show that is based on the original's stop motion papercraft animation.
Re: Talking Point: Should PlayStation Be Paying Attention to Xbox Game Pass?
@themcnoisy EA Access is £20/year and the other prices you quote would be the $ prices not £ so you're a bit out on the amount, but I get your point.
Personally I would say I wasn't bothered about the services being offered if I thought it wouldn't lead to something else (worse) down the road. With online play tied to subscriptions on consoles now I can only suspiciously eye these new initiatives as embryonic plans to change the ways we consume games and, ultimately, maximise a companies profits to our detriment.
Re: Rumour: March PlayStation Plus Games Leaked Ahead of Announcement
There is an offer on the UK PSN store at the moment to get 1 month of PS+ for 87p if it helps anyone (lapsed subscriptions only):
https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-gb/reward_game/playstationplus-1-month-membership/cid=IP9102-NPIA90006_01-PSPLUSSUBS1MX99C
I recently got a survey from them asking why I had stopped my plus subscription and then got sent a free month so I'm beginning to wonder if plus isn't performing as well as they expect with these kinds of things popping up, might just be coincidence.
Re: Talking Point: Which Free March 2017 PlayStation Plus Games Do You Want?
They're still not free...
Re: Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus Is Priced at Just $4.99 Without the Season Pass
@rjejr While I'd never advise buying a season pass without knowing what was in it, I can at least think of the Borderlands 2 season pass as one that was worthwhile as something other than The Witcher.
Re: LEGO City Undercover Plays Good Cop from 4th April on PS4
Had some interest in it on the Wii U, but it was pretty hard to find stock, and even harder to find it reasonably priced. By the time it went budget I had lost my drive to play it. Full price on PS4 seems a bit optimistic to me, but as it's Lego it'll probably do reasonably well. As for me, I believe that is the release date for Persona 5 so it has no chance now.
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Voice-Work Nearing Completion
I still kind of wish they'd stuck to their guns and refused to remake FF7. As a business it is a license to print money for them, but it could also sully one of their shinning star's name. I hope it turns out well, but I don't have the faith I had in Square back in the PS1/2 era anymore and Bravely Default proved doing what you know well is often better than trying to appeal to a new group of players.
Re: Sony's Dropping PlayStation Now on All Devices Apart from PS4, PC
If they are dropping support for most platforms due to low uptake then that is a pretty bad reason to do so. Most people I know don't see the service as offering value so wouldn't consider subscribing, so that is where Sony needs to focus on this service, value for money. The price either needs to drop or the content needs to be more enticing to get people on board, dropping support will only likely lead to a slow death of the service, but that might be what Sony want for another of their products.
Re: Pewdiepie Gets Pulled by Disney After Controversial Stunt
Never enjoyed his videos personally, but to anyone wondering why Disney would acquire something that isn't their trademark kid friendly content you maybe should look a little into their history. For instance Pulp Fiction is a Disney film since they owned Miramax at that time. Then there is Dogma, a film that upset a fair few religious fanatics in its day which also is Disney through the same channels.
Re: Talking Point: Are 'Live Games' Really What You Want on PS4?
As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. The live game thing (live, is that the term they've coined for it?) is OK in moderation, Blizzard have been doing it for a long time well, but I find myself dipping in and out of their games as I see fit. I also expect Blizzard's model will be the gold standard here others will loosely follow, but only while seeing where they can squeeze every last penny out of their customers. As with any of these types of things though companies only look at the profits they see others making and never consider that by doing the same they are potentially fighting for the same customers and will never see the same return they are jealous of the likes of Blizzard getting.
I at least know that know that the indie scene will continue to put out stuff that gamers actually want (and let's face it, they even have "live" games covered in the form of early access). I'm also sure not every big company will follow this model, less competition when releasing new games will only see it be easier for them to make a profit. This kind of thing is always interesting to watch, but sucks when it directly impacts something you enjoy.
Re: PS4 Bundle Prices Plunge Ahead of Nintendo Switch
It's pretty hard to find anywhere you can pre-order a Switch for release day in the UK at least, but I assume that is the same everywhere, so I doubt this is going to do much to affect Nintendo's initial sales and the offer ends before that console's release anyway.
@CliffordB I'm also in the camp of playing games for fun, not for trophies, but even so a lot of Nintendo games have rewards for completing challenges you may not otherwise have thought of or tried, the difference being they give extra levels, items or those stickers if that's your thing. Xenoblade Chronicles X has in game achievements too, but I've read people don't like that as they're not attached to your account which is just weird. Getting an achievement on PS4 for killing a boss you have to kill to progress always struck me as a bit pointless anyway.
Re: Ubisoft to Release Fewer Games as Focus Shifts to Long-Term Support
While this approach may sound good to some on paper, we all know that they are doing it so they can milk the highest profits out of each game for relatively little cost. Putting in some new weapons and maybe a new map to a game that is already built to easily allow those who aren't programmers to do so costs a very small fraction of what it costs to develop a new game and it is pretty much risk free.
I expect to see those microtransaction they said wouldn't be in The Division to be more aggressively marketed and be in all their games from now on. I miss the days where you could buy a game safe in the knowledge you had a complete and playable experience in your hands, I'm just waiting for the proverbial straw that will end up putting some of the big names out of business.
Re: PS4 Pro Boost Mode 'Makes a Huge Difference to Some Games'
@leucocyte Being honest I can only go on what I read as to the performance gains, but the Eurogamer article this one is based on says
"Battlefield 4's performance-sapping 64-player online battles also see a vast improvement - we dipped into an intense multiplayer session and saw a marked improvement, representing a vast increase in fluidity over the same map running on the base PS4 hardware"
I don't play anywhere near competitively anymore, but I do know from when I used to play Quake 3 and the UTs that frame rate dips absolutely can affect you negatively. Given that most TVs are at 60Hz refresh rate (or occasionally 120) it means that if the game is running at 45 fps the tv will show a repeating sequence of frame 1, frame 2, frame 3, frame 3 and that double frame is very noticeable and is what causes the judder effect you get in uncapped games that don't hit the 60 or 30 fps target (or capped ones that don't hit their target).
Your ping and so forth is outside of Sony's control, but they did say they would keep multiplayer fair by not allowing the Pro to have a frame rate advantage as even they know that it is advantageous. Most people probably won't care, but for me at least it is another slight change that shows we are still moving further away from a level playing field and what consoles traditionally stood for.
Re: Nioh's Restricted Co-Op Avoids Making the Game 'Too Easy', says Dev
Wouldn't someone who is further in the game know how to beat the boss and be equipped with better items? So wouldn't that make the game easier? I don't really care though, the challenge in these games is to solo them anyway and that will be my prefered way of playing when I pick it up.
Re: PS4 Pro Boost Mode 'Makes a Huge Difference to Some Games'
@BAMozzy Seems I'm replying to you a lot today
One reason that games usually get locked at 30fps if they can't hit a constant 60fps even if they are constantly over, for instance, 40fps is because of screen tearing - if the frame rate is not a multiple of your screens refresh rate then that causes that horrible effect that is truly a penalty in things like multiplayer shooters. On top of this a variable frame rate will make the game not feel as smooth as it should be. A 60fps experience is a huge advantage in multiplayer for Battlefield and something Sony said they wouldn't do with the Pro - the question is how long until we see a Pro only game if they are already going back on their original statement?
Re: PS4 Pro Boost Mode 'Makes a Huge Difference to Some Games'
@glassmusic That is what I noticed too, Sony were pretty adamant people playing on the Pro would not be given an advantage in multiplayer games, but here we are. I'm not on Plus anymore so it isn't a big thing to me, but I might have felt differently if I had been doing mulltiplayer still and I'm sure it will not go down well with some. As anyone who plays online on the PC will tell you, you prioritise framerate above all else, but with no scaling on the PS4 this isn't an option and will give an advantage to Pro users.
Re: This Is Why Devs Don't Bother Finishing Games
@zimbogamer Personally I'd never pick it up due to the DLC, I hate day 1 DLC, but as this is an early access game it is actually day -xxx DLC. To release DLC for a game you've charged money for and not yet finished is disgusting and should warn you away from dealing with such a company. I'm sure the likes of Capcom, Konami et al are jealous they didn't think of it though
Re: Poll: Has PS4 Pro's Boost Mode Tempted You to Upgrade?
Never liked the idea of the Pro in the first place so it'd take a miracle to make me want to buy one now.
Re: This Is Why Devs Don't Bother Finishing Games
As with any early access game you should only buy it if you're happy with the state it's in now. While Ark isn't my cup of tea I know a lot of people like it, so it isn't that much of a shock it sold well. It also shows that games can still do well without millions poured into advertising. Not sure why this news is somehow worse than CoD or Fifa being the top selling retail game for the xth month running.
Re: Download Your Free February PlayStation Plus Games Now
They're still not free
Re: Don't Expect Our For Honor PS4 Review Until After Launch
I'm guessing the "beta" will be of a stable and enjoyable bit of the game to encourage people to buy it without reviews, but the full game will be medocre at best.
Re: Sony Confirms PS4 Pro Boost Mode, Already Improving a Number of Games
@gmxs Didn't consider load times when I typed that, but I can see I probably should have as they are decent QoL boosts.
Re: Sony Confirms PS4 Pro Boost Mode, Already Improving a Number of Games
@gmxs Destiny is locked to 30fps and hits this target with no dips, so boost mode will do nothing in this case.
Re: Atlus Survey Asks if You Want Persona HD Remasters
I'd prefer if they put the man hours into making new content. The Persona games a great, but I already played them and the biggest impact a game like that has is when you play them through the first time. If I want to play them again I'm happy to just play the normal versions.
Re: Feature: The Promising PS4 Games of February 2017
@Lurker No I never backed to that level, I think there were multiple tiers to be in the game, but I was happy with the Torment with Wasteland 2 thrown in tier that was pretty cheap.
Recently they've announced they dropped some of the stretch goals including 3 of the 9 playable characters which sucks a bit. As an apology though they said all future DLC will be free for backers so I hope that works out well and some of that content is extra characters.
Re: Rumour: PS4 Update to Add Pro 'Boost Mode', Upping Frame Rate of Unpatched Games
I expected this at launch and was a bit surprised it wasn't there, I guess it was down to not wanting to make old PS4 users feel more like second class citizens. As others have said though, without an official patch you'll probably find most games locked to 30 fps without a patch which will have been put there to prevent choppy gameplay from unstable framerate and screen tearing. Any well optimised game will not benefit from this patch, but things like Fallout 4 and Jus Cause may well see improvements.
Re: Sony: We Had to Be Careful Not to Overhype PlayStation VR
This is from an earlier interview with Kaz Hirai on PSVR:
"We wanted to make sure we weren't going to upload or frontload a lot of inventory at retail, because then you're going to get this reaction from retail saying well it's not selling through," Kaz continued.
"We've always said it's going to be a slow start, unfortunately, we did produce a lot of units but we ran out of stock in some retailers, but I think based on reports coming out of the holiday season, we're actually happy with the numbers."
That kind of makes it sound like they created an artificial stock shortage (although maybe not deliberately, that depends on how you interpret what is said) so I think that what is being said now is more about marketing than letting us know exactly what went on.
Now we have them saying they had to be careful to not overhype VR, which is fine, but total silence on the issue is the other end of the spectrum where you make potential buyers keep their money in their pockets as they see no confidence from the business selling the item (especially as Sony has a track record of dropping tech that doesn't meet their expectations quickly). It still seems to me PSVR's success will hinge on how it performs in the next few months and Sony's actions will speak louder than their words. They need to get some good titles out over the next few months and show that a large selection of games are in development to be released over the next year or so.
Re: Feature: The Promising PS4 Games of February 2017
@Lurker I backed the Kickstarter on it so have had the beta for the past 6 months on PC. I've not wanted to spoil my first playthrough though so have only played the first hour of the section given in the beta, but it looks promising from what I have seen. Planescape is one of my all time favourite games so it has a lot to live up to (I think I'm a sucker for melancholic story lines though, so if it does that right it should be good). Now I want to play the rest of the beta...
Re: Review: Nioh (PS4)
@johncalmc Thanks! That all sounds really good actually and the game has definitely moved on to my must buy list. The Souls games are some of my favourites and this one sounds both like it is close enough to that formula that I'll like it, yet different enough that I'll get something new out of it. I expected they knew they had a good game on their hands since they sent review copies out for before release, I'm glad they have.
Re: Review: Nioh (PS4)
@johncalmc You covered most of the important stuff in the review, as I said I just like reading more on games I like the look of so it is mainly just about fleshing out the review with a bit more detail and maybe the odd anecdote. It isn't needed though and if I was less interested in the game I'd likely prefer the review shorter so it is all good.
A few questions as I missed the betas, is there a magic system and, if so, is it similar to the Dark Souls series? Also you mention the loot being like Borderlands, is this just based on colour coding or because it is abundant? Finally, do the weapons in the game feel distinct from one another and is your moveset based on your weapon, or is it altered through spending xp?
Re: Review: Nioh (PS4)
Glad to see this game being well received pretty much everywhere so far. After all the disapointments of last year it's good to see this year starting with a good number of strong titles. Good review, although I agree it'd be nice if the length was a bit longer, but I know that's my personal preference - I always like to read more on games I have interest in.
Re: Rumour: Eidos Montreal Will Dump Deus Ex for Guardians of the Galaxy
@Gamer83 I don't think you can blame consumers at all, Square did everything in their power to put off the people who would buy this game. I would have picked up this game if not for the money grabbing from the minute you could pre-order the thing, and the later inclusion of microtransactions just meant it was a definite lost sale from me. You can't blame a consumer for not buying something that they don't see value in or feel it is unethical in the way it treats its target audience, it is all on Square here.
Re: Talking Point: What Free PlayStation Plus Games Do You Want in February 2017?
@Gremio108 Already has been a plus game two years ago so no point waiting, may as well buy it.
Re: Talking Point: Should Sony Really Curate the PlayStation Store More?
To further the current discussion I see that Jim Sterling has posted another video on a new game on the PS Store, SKYLIGHT FREERANGE 2: GACHDUINE, a game so bad it didn't even get through Steam Greenlight. I fear the floodgates are going to open on these titles soon thanks to general indifference about them and then we will see how many people are still happy to wade through all this rubbish to find anything good.
Re: Poll: Should Resident Evil Remain First-Person for Now?
@kyleforrester87 One problem is their own write up of the game, which is
"Resident Evil 7 biohazard is the next major entry in the renowned Resident Evil series and sets a new course for the franchise as it leverages its roots and opens the door to a truly terrifying horror experience. A dramatic new shift for the series to first person view in a photorealistic style powered by Capcom’s new RE Engine, Resident Evil 7 delivers an unprecedented level of immersion that brings the thrilling horror up close and personal."
That obviously points to them aiming for a game with strong horror elements which Resi 7 obviously isn't (also I question the photorealism claim, but I guess we can just put that down to the standard marketing rubbish).
My problem is more one of the market already has a lot of games that are first person horror shooters, but it lacks in genuinely fear inducing games so, from my perspective, it would have been nice if they'd crafted an experience that favoured the latter rather than the former. I guess that the Resident Evils have never really been big on fear so maybe I shouldn't have expected it, but the build up to this game indicated that was what they were going with which is what is disappointing for me. Going first person could have helped a lot with an immersive horror experience and, without that, it seems a somewhat pointless change to the series to me.
Re: Poll: Should Resident Evil Remain First-Person for Now?
I've only seen footage of the game so far, but to me it looks like Amnesia and Outlast have already set the bar for first person horror and Resi doesn't deliver here. Not saying that makes Resi a bad game, just I was hoping they might go all out on the horror aspect and instead it looks a little more like a first person shooter with mild horror elements.
When the original Resident Evil came out it was relatively ground breaking, we had had the Alone in the Dark series, but Resi was a step up from that. This feels like a step back from the current games in the genre, so I'd only like them to continue in first person if they are willing to advance the genre because, let's face it, recent Resident Evil releases sold well based on the name it built early on, not on the strength of any recent release - if it was a TV series it would have been dropped a long time ago.
Re: Talking Point: Should Sony Really Curate the PlayStation Store More?
@johncalmc I do think that is the main problem here, perception of what curation means in this instance. People see it as an attack on their right to choose rather than the equivalent of a TV store refusing to stock some cheap imported brand of television because the picture quality is terrible and they are prone to break due to poor workmanship and quick build times. Filling the store with rubbish just makes it harder to find the good stuff.
A relatively small team could examine new games and quickly decide whether it is something that has been worked on or just another game that has been made in a day using base assets from a game engine. There would still be a good mix of games on the store, as well as those that aren't classed as stellar, but might get a niche audience. The only difference would be the lack of need to wade through games like Galactic Hitman. Seriously, if anyone needs a reason why curation is good, look that game up on Youtube and after you have a laugh, have a think about having 2 of those pop up every day due to no quality control.
Re: Talking Point: Should Sony Really Curate the PlayStation Store More?
@johncalmc I agree, Jim Sterling makes some great points about why any old rubbish shouldn't be let in. The main reason, for me at least, is what you said in your second to last paragraph, genuinely good games can be easily missed if you allow a sea of dross on your store.
I've used Steam since Half-life 2 forced you to and, for most of that time, when you saw a game pop up you thought you might like the chances were it would at least have a lot of care and attention put into it even if it turned out to be not that good. Now you have literally 100s of games that have been coded (and I use that in the loosest sense of the word) in a weekend and slapped on the store in hopes of making a bit of money before every realises what rubbish it is. Finding the good stuff is a nightmare under this system and genuinely hurts otherwise decent developers.
Re: Video: Sony Must Not Allow PlayStation VR to Wilt
It seems evident that VR is struggling to gain traction after its initial hype. I never got around to trying it, but did want to as I think one of its major hurdles was portraying a VR experience in a video. Going on how it seems to be used now on the PC (mainly early access and greenlight games), something needs to happen or it will, unfortunately, go the way of most the other failed Playstation peripherals.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 152
Finally picked up Doom so may get around to starting that. Also playing the Ace Attorney Trilogy on 3DS.
Re: Talking Point: What Free PlayStation Plus Games Do You Want in February 2017?
@rjejr The funny thing is Sony used to not have a minimum spend back when Microsoft still used points (and probably a little afterwards too). I agree it is an unwelcome policy that can be annoying, in the UK it is a £5 minimum spend too. And yes, Steam do allow small payments (I've literally paid 7p for a game on Steam due to my wallet funds not quite covering it - when the equivalent happens on Sony's store I usually don't bother completing the transaction).
Re: Talking Point: What Free PlayStation Plus Games Do You Want in February 2017?
@Sinton I was thinking the same thing, since when were things you had to pay money for free?
Re: Question Your Sanity with Call of Cthulhu PS4 Trailer
If you need that Lovecraftian itch scratched having seen this I can recommend In the Mouth of Madness, an older Sam Neill film which was passed over by most at release. Last time I looked you could watch it on Youtube
Re: Japanese Sales Charts: 3DS Software Rules the Roost While PS4 Hardware Holds
@JaxonH Japan isn't a Christian country so I don't think Christmas would have much of an impact on sales. Unless, bizarrely, we were talking about KFC. Seriously, look it up
Re: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Will Be Free on PS4 Before Xmas
It's number one in the UK charts above even Fifa, so it can't be all that bad. Black Ops 3 was £20 on Amazon also around this time last year (can't remember if it was just before or after Christmas) so price drops are also not new to the franchise. I'd take it more as a demo release to drum up a few more sales before Christmas and to put it in to people's mind as an option for any Christmas money they might get.
Having said that I can't see a series that has released new iterations every year for what seems like forever not to be suffering from people having series fatigue from it. No amount of marketing is going to help with that though, only true innovation will.
Re: Free Updates Will Enhance Final Fantasy XV's Story, Apparently
I usually wait a while these days before buying a game anyway so this will be a bonus, not only do I get a fully patched game for cheaper than I would at release, I also get extra and (hopefully) better content.
Re: Download December's Free PlayStation Plus Games Now
@themcnoisy It's the standard thing I do these days, refer to something a decade old as something from a few years ago, definitely a sign of age.
Hope you enjoy it, seem to remember I liked it and then stopped playing it for no real reason
Re: Download December's Free PlayStation Plus Games Now
@themcnoisy Think that's about 7 years ago now, you're getting old
Re: Rumour: Final Fantasy VII Remake, XIII Trilogy, Collection of VII, VIII, IX Coming to PS4 in 2017
I'd assume FFI-IX would be just straight ports and as they are already available on Vita on the PS store it isn't that much of a stretch to see some sort of collector's edition of all of these released. They are also often on sale at £4 each so a £60-70 retail package with extras seems reasonable. Not too sure why that one is so far fetched?
Re: PSX 2016: You'll Play As Ellie in The Last of Us: Part II on PS4
A big part of the first game is the bond you build with Ellie as Joel as well as how it fits in with who Joel is. I'm not so sure making Ellie the main player character is such a good move though and would have preferred to see a continuation of how life had changed for Joel and the repercussions of his decisions in the first game. They tried the switch in TWD season 2 and not many people talk about that game when compared to the first as it loses something when you are the character you've been trying to protect.