MFTWrecks

I love me some roguelites, and Housemarque rarely misses in my eyes, PLUS Returnal was an absolute banger of a game. My interest in this is higher than almost everything else PS Studios are developing.

I'm much more intrigued by Hyper Light Breaker, myself. But the art is definitely beautiful.

@nomither6 I stand by the fact that the gamelay of that series, had it been tied to something like military or scifi, would have proven massively more popular. It was so so SO tight and satisfying. But players saw the PvZ skin and wrote it off.

You take that moment to moment gameplay, the classes, the shooter feel and slap a different coat of paint on it and you'd have a perennial heavy hitter in the TPS space.

The most egregious thing is that it was a poor bastardization of two memes at once.

I only managed about 30 minutes in Steel Rising. I thought it played terribly.

I liked Outriders enough to finish it. Had some fun. The general mechanics were solid.

I could see them tackling any of Sony's dormant shooter franchises, really.

I must be the odd man out here, because did I not only hear of this game, I downloaded and played it.

The art style always intrigued me so I kept an eye on it. When it dropped, I was excited and gave it a few rounds. Even got a friend to try it.

The issue was it just wasn't very good. It was a CS clone decades too late. What it brought to the genre was basically what I'd call a tangible in-game second life by way of the little clone/disc thing you could toss around. That was it. It did nothing else.

And the game wasn't well designed for that critical gameplay element. They severely limited where your little disc thing could place your spectre (or whatever they called it). You couldn't put it on walls or weird places to create the sort of dynamic scenarios and matches you'd need to stand out and have "oh *****" moments that created positive word of mouth and, most importantly, a fun time.

It was as basic as you could imagine. You'd just stash your little extra life in a corner until you died or wanted to change where you were on the map. It wasn't cool. It was meh.

But... BUT! You certainly could buy extremely over-priced skins! There was a battlepass! And premium currency aplenty! It was VERY clearly a cash grab first and foremost.

THAT'S the problem with GaaS. They aren't good GAMES first. They are, above all else, designed as pipelines from the dev to a player's wallet. Then they slap a game over top that is almost always not remotely unique nor better than half a dozen games you've played before.

GaaS simply don't stand out right now. Fun multiplayer games can make it. But they need to be cohesive, fun, unique and well made. A lot of these failed GaaS titles fail that sniff test and players can tell.

People don't want a Fortnite clone when Fortnite exists. They don't want a CS clone when CS exists. They need something that makes them go, "Wow, that looks fun." They don't want, "Wow, that skin is only $20."

There's some nuance to be had regarding certain failures, but that's usually the biggest issue that goes unsaid.

I can't wait for this. I've had my eye on it since its first reveal. I've been tempted by the PC release since it released, but I don't like getting tired of a game before it's even at its best. EA just isn't for me.

Makes me feel like a little kid at the window of a candy store, though... I see the goodies and other people enjoying them, but I'm not allowed in the store. Lol

One of the elements of Titanfall multiplayer that I adored that doesn't get a lot of attention is how it made you feel a part of a bigger conflict by integrating NPC combatants into the battlefield. I wish more shooters did that.

My dream game would be something like Battleborn (I know!), but made by a team like Respawn who had slightly better shooting and movement mechanics. I think they'd rock the hell out of an FPS MOBA, which some of TF's modes felt somewhat akin to.

Have players in a heated battle, real and AI combatants all over, pushing back and forth, capturing objectives (of various degrees)... then once a certain power level was reached, they could call in big game-changing elements like vehicles or Titans.

In-match, players would accrue upgrades unto themselves and their team that could shift the tides back and forth. Really recreate that sense of a skirmish on the front lines being fought tooth and nail.

It'd be like a MOBA mixed with a roguelike mixed with an FPS or something... I dunno. Dream game right there.

@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.

Boom. Banger.

Yes. More of this. Less COD.

What a pleasant surprise. Looks right up my alley!

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.

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.

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.

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.

@Deadhunter Activision has been selling COD players the same maps for years. You think any of their developers can count to 6?

@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?

What does any of this matter to the end consumer? No one but business suits and fanboys cares about this.

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!

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

Numerous titles piqued my interest. I thought it was their best SoP in ages. To each their own.

@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.

This looks way better than Lost Soul Aside.

@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've seen free mobile games that look better than this.

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.

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.

It's been over 8 hours and the man's name is still not corrected.

Which is amazing given that's it's still janky af and ugly as all sin.

@Niktaw It very much is.

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.

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.

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.

You be soft?

WELL NOT ANYMORE!