JB_Whiting

@Swandivetotheasphalt If that's the case, then why do they have her in a skin suit, accentuating her boobs and butt; plus in full makeup? If she's meant to be a child, then they're really going out their way to adultise her. It looks sexualised to me; even if it's not explicit. They know what they're doing and it's icky.

This already looks leagues better than MK II. It actually has some personality and creativity.

"Fans" complaining about not seeing their fave hero in live action is beginning to wear a little thin. I'd rather have a rock-solid horror film than another cosplay piss-poor adaptation (Welcome to Racoon City hello). And this looks bangin'.

@themightyant Exactly. I was about to have a read when I noticed it's behind a subscription wall - because of course it is. Can't they at least throw us scroungers a freebie for once.

@wildcat_kickz I get what you're saying but, films get restorations and remasters - the picture and sound quality are vastly improved - rather than VFX being redone (I guess that would be akin to more of a graphical remake).

I agree having the ability to play them is welcome, but charging that sort of price, EACH, is tantamount to literally robbery. And people blindly buying into it are only going to allow these companies to keep taking the piss.

Like others have said, it'll be £69.99 I'll bet my house on it. I just can't see this game creating some new price limit (it would be a slippery slope too). Plus they will be pushing whatever deluxe version they have pretty hard - and they always seem to sell better than standard going by the PSN store pre-order chart (which always baffles me, like, just pay the normal amount; don't waste extra cash on useless trinkets.)

They will sell tens of millions of copies in 24 hours anyway .

If there's an option to turn off the voice of that annoying little dragon guy then I might consider. Couldn't make it through the original demo with that thing squeeling every five seconds.

@dskatter Yup. As much as everyone keeps glazing Capcom, let's not forget that they're not above shady practices like this and in their other games (looking at you Resi and DMCV in particular)

I think it's best to view this as a spin-off or non-FF game with the name slapped on it. Then maybe expectations will be more realistic. Have to say though after watching this preview I'm actually super on board with it now.

I have gotten a bit tired of art style of these recent HD-2D games, but this looks a lot more vibrant; closer to something you'd see on the PS1/PSP.

I'm a sucker for a solid soulslike so I'll probably get this; just wish it were in like I dunno, August or something. September is already impossibly stacked.

Bit of a joke. I'm not a trophy perfectionist or anything but I'm quite happy with my Plat. I traded the game in thinking I had 100% it, now they've added this lol. Please don't make this a thing with other games.

@somnambulance To be fair to the game, I kinda had that feeling a bit with the first level of Pragmata, but then it escalated to a wonderful level of tension and fun later on. I'm confident this will be the same.

@somnambulance I think it's more that we want the enemies to engage with the player a bit more. They kinda just stand around doing nothing. The parry/dodge mechanic is super rewarding; it's just the opportunity to engage with those mechanics doesn't happen often enough to feel fun.

FF16 is fantastic (apart from the unwieldy framerate). Ignore the naysayers!

@Athrum I know, I had them all on PS2. I was just kinda hoping that this played more like Dawn of Dreams, which, while not being my fave of the four games, had a really interesting combat system that I thought this new one would build upon. I was actually more bothered with how zoomed in the camera was, but I reckon it'll have an option to zoom it out like Resi 4.

I still think the final game will be good, don't get me wrong!

I must admit I also was disappointed with this demo. It was just a bit too slow and far too easy. I'm not expecting DMC levels of carnage but it doesn't quite have the sauce atm. Full game is still on my radar though.

If it's anything on the level of the first game's Dark Arisen then this is going to completely transform the game (for the better). So anyone who hasn't picked it up yet you'll be in for a REAL treat. Seriously can't wait to dive back in.

The trailer had me at vaulting/backflipping archer.

@PaperAlien Well, yeah I get that, but my time is precious and I don't want to trudge through the weaker expansions. I'm not fussed about the storyline and just want to shoot stuff

@Oram77 I'm looking to dive back into this but it all looks a little daunting. Do you recommend which expansions to try and which to avoid? I've only completed the main campaign back when it released, but am curious to try all this other content.

@dodgykebaab But Crazy Taxi wasn't on the PS1, it on the Dreamcast/PS2. And from watching this trailer, it's not exactly like the visuals/gameplay have progressed in any meaningful way. It's just a shiner version of those old games.

What I was getting at in my original comment was that they have the original games as a foundation to build on, they're literally RIGHT THERE. So it's puzzling to see that they can't make basically the same game again without AI; and I'm talking about generative AI here, not some line of code that helps with filtering data or whatnot, but to generate assets/art that can quite easily done by real people.

Persona 4 Revival and Wo-Long 2 are stand-outs for me. I'm a little worried about some of the saltiness coming from our community toward the E-Day being Xbox exclusive. I didn't realise there were so many die-hard Gears fans that don't own an Xbox here!

It's getting hilarious at this point. AI hasn't been needed to assist game development for DECADES, and all of a sudden mega corporations like Sega can't even get a new Crazy Taxi off the ground without the help of AI tools. It just furthers the notion that they're only doing it to cut corners; literally NO other reason.

@themightyant OK so there's an area early on (the crypt/graveyard, east of the main town) where you can grind out bones (souls) and get hundreds and hundreds in a matter of minutes (just kill the enemies then go back to the bonfire). You'll level up your damage and HP so fast that the game becomes a cake-walk. There you go, you can still have your trophies now

I'm not sure why people are sceptical of IGN's 10? Isn't this getting 10's from many other outlets also?

Nothing says confidence like see-sawing between BLOPS and MWs. What a sad, sad state CoD is in right now. At least call it Modern Warfour.

Seems like they've struck the perfect balance between Hitman-esque sandbox and cinematic linear thrills. A little disappointed in the lack of replayability (especially next to Hitman trilogy), but am excited to tuck into this!

@tangyzesty Sexual violence? Do you mean as in like violence against women? Because if you've seen Hellraiser that isn't it in the slightest. It's weirdly erotic, yes, and very "BDSM in Hell", (most of Barker's creations are romantisised works) but it does not celebrate sexual violence in any way.

Hellraiser is oddly romantic in its depiction of the flesh - the fine line between desire/pleasure and pain/torture. It's actually quite beautiful. At least the first couple of films were. Hopefully this game is close in tone to those.

I agree with others here about the writing and dialogue. It doesn't have a voice of its own, feels almost a little ChatGPT. And the girl who's with you NEVER shuts up. Example in the dungeon:

"Hey look there's a door, but it's locked, I wonder if there's a key?"
I find key near door
"I wonder if this key might open that door"
Use key on door
"That works!"
Room locks with enemies
"The room is locked! It should open after you clear these enemies"

It's giving Focus M. Really hope there's an option to turn her off in the full release.

I'm surprised they managed to knock out something that is actually good despite the missing key talent. But yeah, it does leave a sour taste knowing what happened. I'm intrigued but will probably wait for sale.

This bums me out. DS remake was a blast and I was really hoping they'd at least do 2 as well. EA can suck it.

Saros improves and refines the gameplay, but man, Returnal's vibe is really something else. The feeling of total isolation, Selen's struggle, and the punishing but rewarding structure just hits different.

Agree with others on here that Saros becomes too easy once you get through the skill tree. It's nice and challenging up to the third biome but after that it's a cake walk, and I platinumed it in around 15 hours. Wish it had an unlimited tower like Returnal, as it is I've not touched it since finishing. Still great though!

I played it once and that was enough. It's lazy and slapdash and not a patch on Mercenaries. The game has very little replay value as is, so it's a shame to see that this is all they've added in, when the likes of Village and 4 Remake have fantastic extra modes.

@AhmadSumadi Sorry gotta disagree, nostalgia notwithstanding, the original is leagues better:

• better fight choreography
  real locations and wonderful looking sets
• better casting
• likeable characters that have warmth
• paced better
• there's an actual tournament
• killer soundtrack
• Christoph Lambert and Robin Shou are so fun to watch
• Cary-Hiroyuki freakin' Tagawa
• costumes are game accurate
• no Cole Young or dumb arkana
• yes the newer one has fatalities but it's bad looking CGI blood

It was all ruined with Annihilation of course but there's no doubt the OG is one of the best if not thee best game adaptation. MKII does look much better though.

@Questionable_Duck I'll pop in here a quote from Cregger himself which I think might help alliviate your worries somewhat:

"I feel so sensitive talking bout the move on behalf of the game fans, because I think some of the fans are only going to be happy if I tell the story of the games. And I'm not doing that, because I feel like I wouldn't do it justice. I feel like the games do such a great job of telling that story."

@Questionable_Duck I get that, but they're just elements you recognise; it's the feeling of familiarity which is comforting. I think it's best to approach this film the same way we did for 7 & Village. Brand new protagonist and story, with a very tenuous link to franchise

This guy kinda reminds me of Ethan a bit - an everyman who's trying to reach the love of his life; I think it's a good way to bring us into this world and make us feel uncomfortable. If we had the usual gang of muscle-bound legacy heroes, I don't think it would create the white-knuckle tension this seems to be going for.

Welcome to Racoon City was the perfect example of catastrophically messing up the games, that was an embarrasing attempt to squish 1 & 2 into a single film. I think it's best to let passionate filmmakers do their own thing; means we get some really weird sh*t

@Questionable_Duck What Resdient Evil stuff needs to be in there to qualify? I see Racoon City, guns, creepy looking mansion type room, keys to unlock stuff, effed up BOWs, and buckets of blood. Seems to tick most of the boxes for me.

@themightyant This was my main complaint too; it was a 10 hour game stretched to 20. If they can tighten it with this one it'll be perfect.

Such a polished and downright fun game; hacking mechanic is super engaging. My only gripe is having to traipse around finding all the collectibles to unlock the final challengers/ending, a slight sour note in an otherwise great package.

@Matroska I get what you mean, I think the issue is more to do with the fact that CD tries (and sort of fails for me) to actually implement good story and characters - it has cutscenes (that can't be skipped) and moments where you very slowly follows characters while they spout dialogue (that also can't be skipped), it kinda just kills momentum for me. Whereas I guess games like BotW and ER, their narratives are more hidden for the player to discover if they so wish, it isn't at the forefront of those games, getting in the way of the more fun stuff.

@Yomv7t It's not the complexities of the controls that are the issue (though holding down R1 and R2 is a baffling choice - so is holding L1 and R1 then holding L1 but sort of also letting go of both L1 and R1 to focus light, even then sometimes it just does an attack). The main problems I have is the god-awful story and complete lack of any kind of cohesion or logic/sense in missions, and I'm talking main quests. Thankfully a lot of the supposed side stuff is way more enjoyable. I did warm to the game overall, but there's no denying it has some serious problems.

@JoeNobody "Haha, critics are bad and shills unless I agree with them in which case they are right haha"

Man, an awful lot of people on here unfairly bashing a well-established profession; you do realise that these "so called critics" are working on this very site, right? So you're saying that game critics matter, but not film critics? Many film critics, at least well established ones, are brilliant writers - they're not telling you not to see a film, they're expressing their opinion in a form of creative analysis.

Just because a film is based on a gaming IP doesn't mean it's free from criticism - Mario Galaxy Movie is lazy and derivative, they went for the easiest, low hanging fruit; didn't bother to put in an ounce of effort in the narrative department, which, if I remember correctly, is what makes up a FILM.... narrative; character arcs; themes - things which this film just doesn't bother with. A film should be judged on its own merits, despite what the source material is. I go to the cinema A LOT, and see many films; both blockbusters and the "arty-farty" stuff, and guess what, usually the art-house films end up being far more fulfilling - but that's probably because I'm a grown adult with a working brain.

Animated films CAN and SHOULD be better, they can both be fun/zany and have clever writing and rich characters (I mean just look at almost any Pixar/Ghibli/Disney/even Dreamworks films). Mario Galaxy just doesn't even try.

This will be the perfect contrast after finishing Crimson Desert - a short, linear game that is polished with responsive, not clunky gameplay, and has actual focus!

@Simu001 I'm kinda with you on the Johnny thing. But my main gripe with him isn't his character writing - it's the performance. I think having Keanu play him didn't work for me; the line deliveries felt too flat. If it were a proper voice actor I think it really would've brought his many layers to life. I thought the stunt casting was going to be a cameo, not for someone who has like the m ost dialogue outside of V.

This looks like a MASSIVE step up from the first game. I admired Mortal Shell but felt it was hard to truly love. It had the bones of something good, but it just had too many moments of frustration and a confusing level layout - felt like more of an alpha demo of a better game; this this sequel looks like that game.

Love that it's taking some inspo from Elden Ring with its map as well. Those glory kills look great; I'm sold!

@CallMeDuraSouka It is weird; there seems to be this collective hive-mind that is not just staunchly defending this game calling it perfection, but bashing people who disagree.

I've put around 15 hours into this game and for my money, it's kind of a slog. Not bad, just dull and not all that fun to play. It's the ultimate example of wide as an ocean, as deep as a puddle for me. The world feels lifeless and doesn't really react to me; it's certainly no KCD II in that department.

It is a stunner though; looks unbelievably good on the Pro... well unless you're in a town, then the framerate tanks.

Was hoping for a mercenaries mode, but alas, I guess I should've lowered my expectations. The disc will remain in its box for now.

@shoeses Yeah totally in that case go for it! Playing with a friend makes it more fun for sure. It's just kinda dull on your own.

@SBBuds I mean just because it has roguelite elements doesn't reduce value of the game. Returnal was full price and I squeezed every penny of enjoyment out of it. Must've put in 25 hours just to reach the end. This looks like it'll have more depth/content. Can't wait.