@FEWGEE1 That's honestly my concern with Robocop and (oddly enough) Wanted: Dead. Sure, they're great prices... but they seem to be approaching "about to be dumped onto PS+" status. So even at these low prices I am very very hesitant.
@pyrrhic_victory Great game! One of my favorite open world titles. (And honestly one they could easily try and emulate with a "modern" TM if they didn't go the BR/MP-only GaaS route.)
I think tying the player account to a vehicle/chassis they keep updating over time would be a really great way to retain an audience. Let players build a connection to their specific vehicle and handcraft a killing machine that could stand proudly alongside the likes of Sweet Tooth and Grasshopper and Axel and everyone.
Part of TM's design genius (to me) was you could basically always see who you were about to get in a fight with. The characters had pretty distinct profiles you could read, despite the chaos of the match.
Try and recreate that for players and their personal vehicles. It'd be amazing to have top players build distinct machines that, if you encountered them in-match, you could instantly recognize. Shooting for THAT would be super cool and engaging.
People do not want a Twisted Metal where you get out of your car. The car is the ENTIRE "character" people care about.
What's sad is, a TM BR (as others have noted) could ABSOLUTELY have worked! There is a HUGE market for vehicle-based live service titles (see: World of Tanks).
They could have done some cool stuff with the BR formula by setting it within a destructible game world made to be driven around at high speeds.
Think...
Every player gets a generic starter car/chassis. Sedan, pickup, motorcycle, semi, SUV, minivan, etc. This is like the "skin" you drop into a BR match with. It's what you start the match looking like.
When you begin your account, that chassis will be rust and bolts.
You drop in just like Fortnite/PUBG by driving out the back of a plane F&F (or Dumbo Drop lol) style so you can pick your landing spot. The map is littered with towns and cities and POIs reminiscent of classic TM maps, connected by highways, rivers, mountains, etc. Think of a Warzone or GTA-sized map.
The map is WHOLLY DESTRUCTIBLE. With enough firepower you can destroy damn near everything. You could lay waste to cities, raze forests, the works (this would be like what they tried with the PS3-era TM).
You gather weapons that get bolted onto your car like classic TM. Except, like a modern BR, you have a 4-5 weapon "kit" you and weapons have rarities.
Around the map would be boss NPC cars... the classic TM cars we know and love. Like a Marvel season in Fortnite where completing killing Dr. Doom allows you to become Dr. Doom (or whomever), in TM, you'd BECOME that character for the remainder of your time in-match. Otherwise, that boss character would join the fray and interact with the rest of the match like any other player-driven vehicle. So if not taken out, they'd come hunting the players like The Butcher in Diablo 4. You hunt them down, or they hunt you down. Choice is yours.
Have in-game proximity-driven CB radio (aka voice chat) that lets players talk, or fire off voice lines and quips to each other. Funny phrases and sayings that would let you trash talk in case you don't want to ACTUALLY do any chatting.
The last human-driven vehicle left standing "wins," but if it ends up human vs AI/boss and the human loses, it's not a "full" win. Getting a "full" win nets you more XP or currency or whatever, while a "partial win" (the human lost to an AI/boss) nets less. Track the difference in the stats. Bragging rights would be getting the "full" win, like a "crown victory" in Fortnite.
As players play matches, they accrue currency (nuts and bolts or scrap) to unlock bumpers, doors, hoods, paint jobs, rims, etc. to customize their chassis. This collection of options (add items every season to fit the season) with a real cash store - the Black Market (nod to TM: Black, anyone?). The BM offers "premium" items/collections of items like nicer paint jobs/textures - candy paint anyone? - unique chassis items.
The core loop being: play huge, bombastic TM-meets-BR matches and then go back to your garage and create a unique vehicle that stands beside the TM characters. Have account levels/goals net you spots in your garage so you have additional vehicles/chassis at your disposal to take into battle akin to a loadout in COD.
Battle Pass items include additional cosmetics, weapon effects (like different color missile contrails and boost animations), songs for your radio, voice lines for your "driver", etc.
How does this even benefit them at this point? All it will do is cast a further pale on the game and Bioware by way of the negative press/sentiment that will be associated with this move.
The game has no mtx (not a complaint) nor DLC. Giving it away will not in any way generate revenue besides the upfront $$ Sony is giving them. To settle for that is a sign the tail on the sales have dropped off a cliff and this is EA throwing in the towel.l full stop.
I'll be surprised if Bioware survives long enough to release ME 4. This is wild.
This speaks volumes about EA's meddling and strategy over the past decade+. They played their hand and they lost/eroded customer support HARD. Now they are reaping what they sowed. Sadly, this will cost many talented people their jobs and impact a lot of families while the suits suck up fat bonuses.
The Nemesis system is the coolest gameplay enhancement in videogames over the past 2, maybe 3 generations. The fact WB patented it and then not let anyone use it is borderline criminal. The fact they shuttered the studio who created it and now we will almost certainly NEVER see it appear in another game ever? Fire the suits into the sun.
@somnambulance Teamwork would be improved if Netease fully embraced the teamwork/team-up dynamics and didn't make them so limited.
Why do only very certain land-based characters get the ability to use Punisher's rope line? Why don't the Guardians characters ALL synergize with every other member? Why don't all projectile characters get some sort of offensive rebound-like attack when shooting their Cap's shield? Why does Cloak & Dagger's invisibility only work on like 2 characters? Why don't all tanks (and Magneto) have the ability to fastball special Wolverine? Why don't mutants all get some sort of "better together" or "X-gene" buff when working together? Why, as Punisher or Winter Soldier, can I not deploy/initiate my own infinite ammo reserve when working with Rocket, instead of relying on Rocket to decide when I need the boost?
If they made more characters synergize with each other, you'd have more opportunities for a variety of gameplay systems to link up. You wouldn't feel nearly as kneecapped when your team doesn't commit to what is currently an optimized roster and the other team goes full meta.
I love the game. I really do. But it baffles me how they have chosen to limit the character interactions so severely.
@Toot1st If you think companies will pass their savings on to us, consumers, instead of using it to pad their bottom lines and make their share prices tick up and their bonuses fatter, you are extremely naive. We will see no direct benefit. Guaranteed.
@LikelySatan And how does knowing how a multibillion dollar corporation defines its investment strategy helpful (or useful) to you or any other consumer in any manner whatsoever?
While watching the movies, I said to myself, "I would love to play a game set in this world." It was SO visually arresting to me.
I've never been a huge fan of survival games, however, so I am extremely hesitant to get too hyped for this. Seeing gameplay, though, gave me some distinct Mass Effect vibes. And previews were saying a lot of the mundanity of the traditional survival gameplay loop has been buffed out or removed.
I'm hoping it hits the sweet spot where I can really get into it. I think it looks amazing.
Why is this news? Gamers have been gifting games to each other for literal decades. Redditors have been doing stuff like this, explicitly, for years. Smh
@Tomato_Goose I had a fun time with it! Didn't like it enough to buy the DLC to experience the "true" endgame (mostly cause I was playing solo), but I had a blast creating my own little build and blowing up monsters. Dumb popcorn movie of a looter shooter.
@Frmknst What rock do you live under? The series sells in the tens of millions. It has 3 mainline entries (with this 4th looming), a prequel, 2 spin offs, and it earned a Hollywood adaptation.
You can argue the quality of all of the above. But to deny the IP is strong and tends to sell better than most titles is willful ignorance.
I'm glad we can all play what we like, because I thought that was the best SoP in ages.
A Returnal spiritual successor, slightly more info on Hell is Us + release date, Borderlands 4 release date + its own SoP, Mindseye, Metal Eden... I'm stoked as hell. But I guess you can't please everyone. [Shrug]
Guess I'm in the minority of people who like to see developers create new games and concepts and IP instead of milking the same old same old for years at a time. [Shrug]
"Smash Bros-meets-MOBA" sounds way more interesting to me than anything Destiny-related will ever sound.
I've personally got my eye on Flintlock. Ashen was the first Souls-like I played and finished, so I am interested in what the studio did with their newest title.
@Thatguyoverthere I hated it. I played about 2 hours before abandoning it.
It's too hard to disconnect it from the Arkham games. It looks and feels like it WANTS to be an Arkham game, but it's just worse.
Thing that broke me: there's no jump button. The combat and basic movement at the beginning felt SO off to me and then it dawned on me that I wasn't able to jump and evade and move about like my brain thought I should be able to.
Nothing in that introductory period (again, I only made it about 2 hours) screamed "this is going to improve drastically."
Mind you, I got it through PS+, so I wasn't even wasting money on it, simply time. Wasn't worth it.
I liked the first one enough, but feel they probably should have gone deeper into action game territory and less into interactive movie. I didn't hear good things about this one and I have no interest in it, which is a shame, because the world building and technical aspects are top tier.
For me, the issue was simply how connected these games all seem to be. Sure, some people love that, but relying on players (and many potential players who may never have played a prior game) to remember or makeup choices from 10ish years ago is just dumb to me. If you won't make games in a timely manner, then don't make them all so deeply connected. Just tell a new story with new characters in the same world.
I only played DAI. I thought it was okay, at best. I remember being so pissed that archers couldn't aim and shoot like a TPS that I ended up playing the entire game as companions who I liked controlling better. That's it. That's what I remember. That and the elf dude ended up evil? Or something.
I'm not so deeply into the lore and characters that I can recall a single damn thing about the story or the world (other than it being very empty). The window of when I'd conceivably give a ***** simply closed.
Then, nothing the game offered in previews and trailers looked like the sort of game I'd expect for the series. Simple as.
I mean... I tried a bunch of their games over the years. I think Paladins probably got the most hours out of me, but that grew stale pretty quickly.
I tried Smite (love the idea of a TPS MOBA) and it was meh. Gave Smite 2 a shot the other week and... it felt literally identical to the game I played years ago. So it was a very quick uninstall.
Putting all their eggs into the basket of a game that, as a SUPREMELY casual player, did literally nothing new or engaging is... a choice. I bet the studio shuts down within 2 years.
Also... Why don't these F2P games advertise? They launch as a beta to barely any fanfare, then disappear into their niche of fans and you just never hear about them. It's consistent across the industry and it's bizarre to me. Do they really all truly just rely on word of mouth? It's so crazy you sell a product but expect success without, you know, informing customers of its existence.
@ThomasHL Seriously. They could have aped Mordor. They could have aped Arkham. They could have aped God of War. A blend of those games and their system could create a really fun action game.
I've seen indie games that they could crib inspiration from, too.
These big studios are inefficient messes top to bottom. They can't get out of their own way. And they wonder why they waste millions.
The Nemesis system is one of the most intriguing and enjoyable gameplay systemsever designed. Ever. It would be PERFECT for a super hero game
I have ALWAYS wanted the next Arkham game to use it. How cool would it be if everyone who played had their own custom, unique super villain arch nemesis weaved into the storyline? They could take a goon from a tutorial section and have them grow into a villain standing alongside the likes of Riddler and Joker and whomever else showed up across the game. It would be incredibly cool to swap stories with friends about how things played out and what sort of villain your game created for you.
I thought Wonder Woman using it would do something like that. It just makes sense!
To hear they've removed it entirely?? No thanks. It was literally the only thing making me interested in playing it.
Shame they don't license the technology out to other developers. That stuff could be all over and create super dynamic single player titles.
Hey execs: you want replayable games. We want replayable games without live service BS. This is the sort of way you achieve that!!
"Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms are Awfully Accurate" would be a much better headline.
It's a an RPG attempting to be as period-accurate as possible. Anyone with a small ounce of historical knowledge would know well in advance that firearms would be an atrocious choice given the time period.
After not connecting with 3 at all, I was worried about whether Gearbox could deliver a solid entry again. But Wonderlands really surprised me with how much fun I had AND how many times I laughed.
Things I'd love to see Borderlands integrate: 1. A free form skill tree/web a la Path of Exile for true customization/theorycrafting (where class determines where you start) 2. A fully voiced protagonist (one of my favorite parts of Wonderlands) 3. Since the game is built for co-op and has numerous vault hunters, let us bring AI companions onto missions a la Mass Effect and have us build a relationship with the other vault hunters; waiting until they appear in a later entry to make them into full characters is a waste and Wonderlands showed having voiced allies is fun, now let them join us! 4. Highly replayable endgame activities like basically every other looter shooter and ARPG on the market: NG+ ain't going to cut it in 2025, Randy, ya hear me???
Just remaster the good NFS games people have been clamoring for to keep that IP alive and then put devs interested in a racing game on Burnout. The fact we haven't seen a Burnout with a modern physics engine is criminal.
I got into Battlefield with Bad Company, drawn by the destruction engine they were using back in that era. When they moved away from what I saw as THE differentiator in the fps space, I lost interest. I've tried BF games here or there since, but I just don't find them compelling when they're just "big COD." That does nothing for me. The dynamicism and variety of what those old matches offered are still unrivaled for me in the space. Until they go back to a focus on that, nothing will matter to me.
I don't care if PS5 games release on PC. I get them where I want to play them and others can enjoy the titles where they want to play. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not out here defending a corporation that doesn't care about me.
However, AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY, I don't understand how they think what they're doing makes sense. They're taking too long to release ports - after literally ALL the hype has died - AND they're releasing poorly optimized/operating software. So they are actively shooting themselves in the foot in a big way, twice, and then not hitting good sales numbers. Like... yeah, no *****.
The whole PSN and regional sales issues are also two HUGE factors/problems that are undeniably their own fault. And I separate them from the technical issues because they are very easy to solve, comparably speaking, and they have begun to, but I fear the damage is done. They misunderstood how much they pissed off PC players with their boneheaded PSN requirement. Sure, they walked it back, but the damage is done. Look at EA and Ubisoft and anyone else who had tried to strongarm PC players: it doesn't work.
I think Sony has a lot to learn. They need to really reflect on who they are and what they want to do, and above all else they need to look at HOW they're doing it. Their execution is their biggest problem.
A game whose progression systems were riddled with anti-player/consumer predatory practices and that didn't respect your time didn't fair well in the market? Color me shocked.
@Medic_alert Look at the rest of what Microsoft does for your answer.
They make PCs and tablets, but it's not their goal to have the biggest piece of the market. They put out halo devices (no pun intended) to show partners what a well made piece of hardware taking advantage of all their software should be like.
I think they'll do the same with Xbox. They'll keep making "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware, but their focus will be the software experience/stack. They simply can't keep dumping R&D dollars into Xbox consoles at the same scale as they have. It's not paying off. Hasn't for years.
The software will be made available, like Windows before it (and like Steam OS on handheld PCs), on partner hardware. So we'll end up with "Xbox by [manufacturer of choice]" hardware, too. It'll be like Valve's Steam Machines effort.
It would not surprise me at all if "Xbox" simply becomes an operating system in a few years. Microsoft Games will simply be a publisher who owns the Xbox OS like how Epic owns a game development platform.
It does not surprise me when 10ish years between titles results in poor sales. These companies create a good thing and then abandon it for a decade and wonder why people lose interest. Not everything needs to be quasi-retired to build mythic levels of fan hype. Not everything can pull that off, but it seems companies seem to think all their IP can do/deserve it.
I played DAI ages ago. On a different system. On a different ecosystem. It was my first (and only) DA game. It was alright.
I couldn't tell you what happened in that game to save my life (besides a lot of boring meandering). Nothing about Veilguard continuing that story mattered to me. I was never going to be able to piece together the events of the story I experienced and carry it forward, so at that point, why would I bother? I "started part way through" once already. I'm not open to doing so again.
Sometimes supporting these overarching narratives can backfire because they only cater to the most hardcore of fans who have been waiting breathlessly for a decade or more to find out what happened. Most people truly do not care. There's a time and a place for narrative throughlines, but they need to be approachable and available within a timely manner, otherwise casual fans will simply forget/stop caring.
Comments 1,901
Re: 12 Great PS5, PS4 Games At Their Lowest Ever Prices This Weekend
@FEWGEE1 That's honestly my concern with Robocop and (oddly enough) Wanted: Dead. Sure, they're great prices... but they seem to be approaching "about to be dumped onto PS+" status. So even at these low prices I am very very hesitant.
Re: Cancelled Twisted Metal PS5 Game Sounds Exactly As Expected
@pyrrhic_victory Great game! One of my favorite open world titles. (And honestly one they could easily try and emulate with a "modern" TM if they didn't go the BR/MP-only GaaS route.)
I think tying the player account to a vehicle/chassis they keep updating over time would be a really great way to retain an audience. Let players build a connection to their specific vehicle and handcraft a killing machine that could stand proudly alongside the likes of Sweet Tooth and Grasshopper and Axel and everyone.
Part of TM's design genius (to me) was you could basically always see who you were about to get in a fight with. The characters had pretty distinct profiles you could read, despite the chaos of the match.
Try and recreate that for players and their personal vehicles. It'd be amazing to have top players build distinct machines that, if you encountered them in-match, you could instantly recognize. Shooting for THAT would be super cool and engaging.
Re: Cancelled Twisted Metal PS5 Game Sounds Exactly As Expected
People do not want a Twisted Metal where you get out of your car. The car is the ENTIRE "character" people care about.
What's sad is, a TM BR (as others have noted) could ABSOLUTELY have worked! There is a HUGE market for vehicle-based live service titles (see: World of Tanks).
They could have done some cool stuff with the BR formula by setting it within a destructible game world made to be driven around at high speeds.
Think...
Every player gets a generic starter car/chassis. Sedan, pickup, motorcycle, semi, SUV, minivan, etc. This is like the "skin" you drop into a BR match with. It's what you start the match looking like.
When you begin your account, that chassis will be rust and bolts.
You drop in just like Fortnite/PUBG by driving out the back of a plane F&F (or Dumbo Drop lol) style so you can pick your landing spot. The map is littered with towns and cities and POIs reminiscent of classic TM maps, connected by highways, rivers, mountains, etc. Think of a Warzone or GTA-sized map.
The map is WHOLLY DESTRUCTIBLE. With enough firepower you can destroy damn near everything. You could lay waste to cities, raze forests, the works (this would be like what they tried with the PS3-era TM).
You gather weapons that get bolted onto your car like classic TM. Except, like a modern BR, you have a 4-5 weapon "kit" you and weapons have rarities.
Around the map would be boss NPC cars... the classic TM cars we know and love. Like a Marvel season in Fortnite where completing killing Dr. Doom allows you to become Dr. Doom (or whomever), in TM, you'd BECOME that character for the remainder of your time in-match. Otherwise, that boss character would join the fray and interact with the rest of the match like any other player-driven vehicle. So if not taken out, they'd come hunting the players like The Butcher in Diablo 4. You hunt them down, or they hunt you down. Choice is yours.
Have in-game proximity-driven CB radio (aka voice chat) that lets players talk, or fire off voice lines and quips to each other. Funny phrases and sayings that would let you trash talk in case you don't want to ACTUALLY do any chatting.
The last human-driven vehicle left standing "wins," but if it ends up human vs AI/boss and the human loses, it's not a "full" win. Getting a "full" win nets you more XP or currency or whatever, while a "partial win" (the human lost to an AI/boss) nets less. Track the difference in the stats. Bragging rights would be getting the "full" win, like a "crown victory" in Fortnite.
As players play matches, they accrue currency (nuts and bolts or scrap) to unlock bumpers, doors, hoods, paint jobs, rims, etc. to customize their chassis. This collection of options (add items every season to fit the season) with a real cash store - the Black Market (nod to TM: Black, anyone?). The BM offers "premium" items/collections of items like nicer paint jobs/textures - candy paint anyone? - unique chassis items.
The core loop being: play huge, bombastic TM-meets-BR matches and then go back to your garage and create a unique vehicle that stands beside the TM characters. Have account levels/goals net you spots in your garage so you have additional vehicles/chassis at your disposal to take into battle akin to a loadout in COD.
Battle Pass items include additional cosmetics, weapon effects (like different color missile contrails and boost animations), songs for your radio, voice lines for your "driver", etc.
Boom. Banger.
Re: PS5 Sci-Fi FPS La Quimera Confirmed by Former Metro Series Devs
Yes. More of this. Less COD.
Re: Acclaimed Castlevania, Metroid Dev Reveals Blades of Fire for PS5
What a pleasant surprise. Looks right up my alley!
Re: PS Plus Essential PS5, PS4 Games for March 2025 Announced
How does this even benefit them at this point? All it will do is cast a further pale on the game and Bioware by way of the negative press/sentiment that will be associated with this move.
The game has no mtx (not a complaint) nor DLC. Giving it away will not in any way generate revenue besides the upfront $$ Sony is giving them. To settle for that is a sign the tail on the sales have dropped off a cliff and this is EA throwing in the towel.l full stop.
I'll be surprised if Bioware survives long enough to release ME 4. This is wild.
This speaks volumes about EA's meddling and strategy over the past decade+. They played their hand and they lost/eroded customer support HARD. Now they are reaping what they sowed. Sadly, this will cost many talented people their jobs and impact a lot of families while the suits suck up fat bonuses.
Re: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Advertises New Wares on PS5
I didn't expect to like the first as much as I did. Great little rogue like. Looking forward to this and love the adaptation of the art style into 3D.
Re: Cancelled Wonder Woman PS5 Game Was 'Gorgeous and Expansive'
The Nemesis system is the coolest gameplay enhancement in videogames over the past 2, maybe 3 generations. The fact WB patented it and then not let anyone use it is borderline criminal. The fact they shuttered the studio who created it and now we will almost certainly NEVER see it appear in another game ever? Fire the suits into the sun.
Re: Warner Bros. Games Closes Multiple Studios, Wonder Woman Cancelled
WB is a detriment to the gaming (and film, fwiw) industry. Shut down, let the studios go independent, and just license the IPs.
The whole company would be better run by monkeys at this point.
Re: Call of Duty Confirms Use of Generative AI in Blockbuster PS5, PS4 Franchise
@Deadhunter Activision has been selling COD players the same maps for years. You think any of their developers can count to 6?
Re: Flying Heroes Are Menacing Their Landbound Marvel Rivals
@somnambulance Teamwork would be improved if Netease fully embraced the teamwork/team-up dynamics and didn't make them so limited.
Why do only very certain land-based characters get the ability to use Punisher's rope line? Why don't the Guardians characters ALL synergize with every other member? Why don't all projectile characters get some sort of offensive rebound-like attack when shooting their Cap's shield? Why does Cloak & Dagger's invisibility only work on like 2 characters? Why don't all tanks (and Magneto) have the ability to fastball special Wolverine? Why don't mutants all get some sort of "better together" or "X-gene" buff when working together? Why, as Punisher or Winter Soldier, can I not deploy/initiate my own infinite ammo reserve when working with Rocket, instead of relying on Rocket to decide when I need the boost?
If they made more characters synergize with each other, you'd have more opportunities for a variety of gameplay systems to link up. You wouldn't feel nearly as kneecapped when your team doesn't commit to what is currently an optimized roster and the other team goes full meta.
I love the game. I really do. But it baffles me how they have chosen to limit the character interactions so severely.
Re: Xbox Plots a Catalogue of AI Games, And It'll Probably Use Tech on PS5
@Toot1st If you think companies will pass their savings on to us, consumers, instead of using it to pad their bottom lines and make their share prices tick up and their bonuses fatter, you are extremely naive. We will see no direct benefit. Guaranteed.
Re: Sony Clarifies the Difference Between First-Party, Second-Party, and So On
@LikelySatan And how does knowing how a multibillion dollar corporation defines its investment strategy helpful (or useful) to you or any other consumer in any manner whatsoever?
Re: Sony Clarifies the Difference Between First-Party, Second-Party, and So On
What does any of this matter to the end consumer? No one but business suits and fanboys cares about this.
Re: In Big News from Little Tokyo, Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past Revealed
THIS is how you do a retro game, with tongue firmly placed in-cheek. Holly hell does this deserve all the success.
NOW GIMME THE STREET SHARKS, DAMMIT!
Re: Dune: Awakening Has a Release Date, PS5 Fated to Follow Soon After
While watching the movies, I said to myself, "I would love to play a game set in this world." It was SO visually arresting to me.
I've never been a huge fan of survival games, however, so I am extremely hesitant to get too hyped for this. Seeing gameplay, though, gave me some distinct Mass Effect vibes. And previews were saying a lot of the mundanity of the traditional survival gameplay loop has been buffed out or removed.
I'm hoping it hits the sweet spot where I can really get into it. I think it looks amazing.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is So Good Gamers Are Now Gifting It to Each Other
Why is this news? Gamers have been gifting games to each other for literal decades. Redditors have been doing stuff like this, explicitly, for years. Smh
Re: Reaction: The PS5 Discourse Around State of Plays Is Becoming Draining
Numerous titles piqued my interest. I thought it was their best SoP in ages. To each their own.
Re: Reminder: PS Plus Extra, Premium Lose These 8 Games Next Week
@Tomato_Goose I had a fun time with it! Didn't like it enough to buy the DLC to experience the "true" endgame (mostly cause I was playing solo), but I had a blast creating my own little build and blowing up monsters. Dumb popcorn movie of a looter shooter.
Re: Tides of Annihilation Looks Like PS5's Next Big Thing in Outrageous Extended Gameplay
This looks way better than Lost Soul Aside.
Re: The GTA 6 2025 Release Window May Have Just Gotten Smaller
@Frmknst What rock do you live under? The series sells in the tens of millions. It has 3 mainline entries (with this 4th looming), a prequel, 2 spin offs, and it earned a Hollywood adaptation.
You can argue the quality of all of the above. But to deny the IP is strong and tends to sell better than most titles is willful ignorance.
Re: Warriors: Abyss Is a Budget Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors Roguelite, Out Now on PS5, PS4
I've seen free mobile games that look better than this.
Re: Sci-Fi FPS Metal Eden Will Rip and Tear PS5 in May
I thought this looked dope as hell. It gave me roguelike vibes for some reason, so I look forward to seeing what its gameplay structure is.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Sony's State of Play for February 2025?
I'm glad we can all play what we like, because I thought that was the best SoP in ages.
A Returnal spiritual successor, slightly more info on Hell is Us + release date, Borderlands 4 release date + its own SoP, Mindseye, Metal Eden... I'm stoked as hell. But I guess you can't please everyone. [Shrug]
Re: Rumour: New Bungie Game Targets State of Play Reveal, Out on PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch
Guess I'm in the minority of people who like to see developers create new games and concepts and IP instead of milking the same old same old for years at a time. [Shrug]
"Smash Bros-meets-MOBA" sounds way more interesting to me than anything Destiny-related will ever sound.
Re: 1,500 PS5, PS4 Games Discounted in Latest Huge PS Store Sale
I've personally got my eye on Flintlock. Ashen was the first Souls-like I played and finished, so I am interested in what the studio did with their newest title.
Re: 1,500 PS5, PS4 Games Discounted in Latest Huge PS Store Sale
@Thatguyoverthere I hated it. I played about 2 hours before abandoning it.
It's too hard to disconnect it from the Arkham games. It looks and feels like it WANTS to be an Arkham game, but it's just worse.
Thing that broke me: there's no jump button. The combat and basic movement at the beginning felt SO off to me and then it dawned on me that I wasn't able to jump and evade and move about like my brain thought I should be able to.
Nothing in that introductory period (again, I only made it about 2 hours) screamed "this is going to improve drastically."
Mind you, I got it through PS+, so I wasn't even wasting money on it, simply time. Wasn't worth it.
Re: The Ghoul Says Fallout Season 2 Blows the First 'Out of the Water'
It's been over 8 hours and the man's name is still not corrected.
Re: The Battle Royale That Started It All Has Never Been More Profitable
Which is amazing given that's it's still janky af and ugly as all sin.
Re: The Ghoul Says Fallout Season 2 Blows the First 'Out of the Water'
@Niktaw It very much is.
Re: Xbox Game Hellblade 2 Might Be Out for PS5 'Very Soon'
I liked the first one enough, but feel they probably should have gone deeper into action game territory and less into interactive movie. I didn't hear good things about this one and I have no interest in it, which is a shame, because the world building and technical aspects are top tier.
Re: Hell Is Us Could Be Part of Rumoured State of Play as Pre-Orders Go Live on Xbox
This looks like one of the most intriguing games of the year to me. Definitely high on my list. Can't wait to learn more.
Re: Original Dragon Age Writer Responds to EA's Live Service Obsession with Common Sense
For me, the issue was simply how connected these games all seem to be. Sure, some people love that, but relying on players (and many potential players who may never have played a prior game) to remember or makeup choices from 10ish years ago is just dumb to me. If you won't make games in a timely manner, then don't make them all so deeply connected. Just tell a new story with new characters in the same world.
I only played DAI. I thought it was okay, at best. I remember being so pissed that archers couldn't aim and shoot like a TPS that I ended up playing the entire game as companions who I liked controlling better. That's it. That's what I remember. That and the elf dude ended up evil? Or something.
I'm not so deeply into the lore and characters that I can recall a single damn thing about the story or the world (other than it being very empty). The window of when I'd conceivably give a ***** simply closed.
Then, nothing the game offered in previews and trailers looked like the sort of game I'd expect for the series. Simple as.
Re: Hi-Rez Studio Suffers Significant Layoffs, Drops Everything But Smite 2
I mean... I tried a bunch of their games over the years. I think Paladins probably got the most hours out of me, but that grew stale pretty quickly.
I tried Smite (love the idea of a TPS MOBA) and it was meh. Gave Smite 2 a shot the other week and... it felt literally identical to the game I played years ago. So it was a very quick uninstall.
Putting all their eggs into the basket of a game that, as a SUPREMELY casual player, did literally nothing new or engaging is... a choice. I bet the studio shuts down within 2 years.
Also... Why don't these F2P games advertise? They launch as a beta to barely any fanfare, then disappear into their niche of fans and you just never hear about them. It's consistent across the industry and it's bizarre to me. Do they really all truly just rely on word of mouth? It's so crazy you sell a product but expect success without, you know, informing customers of its existence.
Re: Wonder Woman Game in Turmoil, Is Still 'Years Away from Release', New Report Claims
@ThomasHL Seriously. They could have aped Mordor. They could have aped Arkham. They could have aped God of War. A blend of those games and their system could create a really fun action game.
I've seen indie games that they could crib inspiration from, too.
These big studios are inefficient messes top to bottom. They can't get out of their own way. And they wonder why they waste millions.
Re: Wonder Woman Game in Turmoil, Is Still 'Years Away from Release', New Report Claims
The Nemesis system is one of the most intriguing and enjoyable gameplay systemsever designed. Ever. It would be PERFECT for a super hero game
I have ALWAYS wanted the next Arkham game to use it. How cool would it be if everyone who played had their own custom, unique super villain arch nemesis weaved into the storyline? They could take a goon from a tutorial section and have them grow into a villain standing alongside the likes of Riddler and Joker and whomever else showed up across the game. It would be incredibly cool to swap stories with friends about how things played out and what sort of villain your game created for you.
I thought Wonder Woman using it would do something like that. It just makes sense!
To hear they've removed it entirely?? No thanks. It was literally the only thing making me interested in playing it.
Shame they don't license the technology out to other developers. That stuff could be all over and create super dynamic single player titles.
Hey execs: you want replayable games. We want replayable games without live service BS. This is the sort of way you achieve that!!
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms Are Awful by Design
"Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms are Awfully Accurate" would be a much better headline.
It's a an RPG attempting to be as period-accurate as possible. Anyone with a small ounce of historical knowledge would know well in advance that firearms would be an atrocious choice given the time period.
Re: Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Ridiculous Medieval Firearms Are Awful by Design
Removed
Re: Borderlands 4 Boasts Series' 'Deepest and Most Diverse' Skill Trees
After not connecting with 3 at all, I was worried about whether Gearbox could deliver a solid entry again. But Wonderlands really surprised me with how much fun I had AND how many times I laughed.
Things I'd love to see Borderlands integrate:
1. A free form skill tree/web a la Path of Exile for true customization/theorycrafting (where class determines where you start)
2. A fully voiced protagonist (one of my favorite parts of Wonderlands)
3. Since the game is built for co-op and has numerous vault hunters, let us bring AI companions onto missions a la Mass Effect and have us build a relationship with the other vault hunters; waiting until they appear in a later entry to make them into full characters is a waste and Wonderlands showed having voiced allies is fun, now let them join us!
4. Highly replayable endgame activities like basically every other looter shooter and ARPG on the market: NG+ ain't going to cut it in 2025, Randy, ya hear me???
Re: Need for Speed Series Isn't Dead, But Dev Now Fully Focused on Battlefield
Just remaster the good NFS games people have been clamoring for to keep that IP alive and then put devs interested in a racing game on Burnout. The fact we haven't seen a Burnout with a modern physics engine is criminal.
Re: Significant Assassin's Creed Shadows Spoilers Leak on Hentai Website
You be soft?
WELL NOT ANYMORE!
Re: Battlefield Fans Stand at Attention as EA Teases Community Testing Program
I got into Battlefield with Bad Company, drawn by the destruction engine they were using back in that era. When they moved away from what I saw as THE differentiator in the fps space, I lost interest. I've tried BF games here or there since, but I just don't find them compelling when they're just "big COD." That does nothing for me. The dynamicism and variety of what those old matches offered are still unrivaled for me in the space. Until they go back to a focus on that, nothing will matter to me.
Re: Spider-Man 2's Looking Like Another PC Own Goal from Sony
I don't care if PS5 games release on PC. I get them where I want to play them and others can enjoy the titles where they want to play. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not out here defending a corporation that doesn't care about me.
However, AS A BUSINESS STRATEGY, I don't understand how they think what they're doing makes sense. They're taking too long to release ports - after literally ALL the hype has died - AND they're releasing poorly optimized/operating software. So they are actively shooting themselves in the foot in a big way, twice, and then not hitting good sales numbers. Like... yeah, no *****.
The whole PSN and regional sales issues are also two HUGE factors/problems that are undeniably their own fault. And I separate them from the technical issues because they are very easy to solve, comparably speaking, and they have begun to, but I fear the damage is done. They misunderstood how much they pissed off PC players with their boneheaded PSN requirement. Sure, they walked it back, but the damage is done. Look at EA and Ubisoft and anyone else who had tried to strongarm PC players: it doesn't work.
I think Sony has a lot to learn. They need to really reflect on who they are and what they want to do, and above all else they need to look at HOW they're doing it. Their execution is their biggest problem.
Re: Microsoft Job Listing Suggests Perfect Dark Could Also Be Heading to PS5
My most-played fps of all time. So, yes, please! I have never loved an fps as much as I loved the original Perfect Dark! Sooooo many memories.
Re: Some Think GTA 6's Multiplayer Mode Could Be Sold Separately on PS5
@mariomaster96 That's... exactly what this would accomplish. 😂
Re: MultiVersus Season 5 Will Be Its Final Update, Game Will Go Offline Afterwards
A game whose progression systems were riddled with anti-player/consumer predatory practices and that didn't respect your time didn't fair well in the market? Color me shocked.
Re: Xbox Rips Off the Band Aid, 'Expect Our Games to Show Up in More and More Places'
@Medic_alert Look at the rest of what Microsoft does for your answer.
They make PCs and tablets, but it's not their goal to have the biggest piece of the market. They put out halo devices (no pun intended) to show partners what a well made piece of hardware taking advantage of all their software should be like.
I think they'll do the same with Xbox. They'll keep making "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware, but their focus will be the software experience/stack. They simply can't keep dumping R&D dollars into Xbox consoles at the same scale as they have. It's not paying off. Hasn't for years.
The software will be made available, like Windows before it (and like Steam OS on handheld PCs), on partner hardware. So we'll end up with "Xbox by [manufacturer of choice]" hardware, too. It'll be like Valve's Steam Machines effort.
It would not surprise me at all if "Xbox" simply becomes an operating system in a few years. Microsoft Games will simply be a publisher who owns the Xbox OS like how Epic owns a game development platform.
Re: Xbox Rips Off the Band Aid, 'Expect Our Games to Show Up in More and More Places'
Perfect Dark, Avowed, and State of Decay. Those alone will make me a happy camper.
Re: EA Stock Price Plummets After Dragon Age: The Veilguard, FC 25 Disappointments
It does not surprise me when 10ish years between titles results in poor sales. These companies create a good thing and then abandon it for a decade and wonder why people lose interest. Not everything needs to be quasi-retired to build mythic levels of fan hype. Not everything can pull that off, but it seems companies seem to think all their IP can do/deserve it.
I played DAI ages ago. On a different system. On a different ecosystem. It was my first (and only) DA game. It was alright.
I couldn't tell you what happened in that game to save my life (besides a lot of boring meandering). Nothing about Veilguard continuing that story mattered to me. I was never going to be able to piece together the events of the story I experienced and carry it forward, so at that point, why would I bother? I "started part way through" once already. I'm not open to doing so again.
Sometimes supporting these overarching narratives can backfire because they only cater to the most hardcore of fans who have been waiting breathlessly for a decade or more to find out what happened. Most people truly do not care. There's a time and a place for narrative throughlines, but they need to be approachable and available within a timely manner, otherwise casual fans will simply forget/stop caring.
Re: Reaction: Sony's Live Service Push Has Been a Disaster of Utterly Insane Proportions
Microsoft upcoming first party lineup is looking iconic compared to Sony's right about now.