MFTWrecks

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!

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.

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.

@mariomaster96 That's... exactly what this would accomplish. 😂

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.

Perfect Dark, Avowed, and State of Decay. Those alone will make me a happy camper.

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.

Microsoft upcoming first party lineup is looking iconic compared to Sony's right about now.

Herman Hulst is inept. Full stop.

A MOBA (popular genre) mixed with a simple and proven Smash-like gameplay system could actually be real fun. Say what you will about personal preferences, at least something like THIS sounds unique and worth trying.

I don't think Sony's failures in the live service space have purely been aesthetic. I don't think they're offering anything fresh and engaging enough for people to care. Say what you will about Concord's visual styling, its true curse was that it did NOTHING new or engaging. This, if rumors are true, could at least be worth playing.

@MikeOrator "Can you imagine..."

Yes. That's literally what I was doing.

I can't fathom why a Western contemporary to these gacha games hasn't been developed. Can you imagine the money that a Marvel or DC universe Gacha game would print?

Endless characters to add, countless POIs people would be dying to explore, loads of great storylines to adapt for quests and events... It's a no brainer imo. It could be the open world super hero game of people's dreams.

I think Marvel Rivals proves there's very much still an appetite for comic book-led action games, despite the reported doom and gloom of super hero fatigue.

When will companies learn it'd save them a hell of a lot more money in the long term if they fire the decision makers who force this stuff on broader development teams than if they fire the actual, boots in the ground talent that can help them recoup the losses by working on other, future projects?

There's no way in hell the salaries of such staffers comes close to the cost of continuing to employ people who make the bad decisions when the value added by their future potential is taken into account. No suit is going to make you a hit. But they sure as hell will help deliver you utter bombs.

With the right vision, this could lend itself to a pretty great action comedy movie.

They should lean into the fact the divers are faceless meat sacks on the front line. I think it could work really well if they made it with large ensemble cast where you follow a small fire team for like 10-15 minutes before they die a horrible death. Would be great if they marketed it with a singular star (or 4 star squad) only to have them die a horribly cartoonish death randomly, like 5 minutes in. Have the fact the big stars die AT ALL as part of the shock/humor. But then right after one star dies, a new star pops out of a drop pod and BAM you're off and running. (Repeat as necessary for comedic effect.)

OR you make it like Edge of Tomorrow where the singular group of stars die over and over and over and THAT'S a key part of it. Lean into the fan theory that perhaps the divers are clones.

I legit think it could be done well either way. I'm excited to see them tackle this. I think the fact the game only really has the broadest of strokes related to a storyline attached to it could be a huge creative boon to whomever they get to work on it. There will be far lower expectations to properly adapt it unlike something like TLOU. Plus, it's simply a FUN game/premise so I hope they embrace the absurdity, satire, and cartoonishness of it.

Heaven forbid these software development teams ever become more efficient at their jobs.

There's no reason, from a development perspective, that these specific games continue to balloon in cost. The engine gets minimal changes between releases. The gunplay and game systems, too, see only incremental change. They release a small handful of new maps and then re-release content that has existed (and been updated) for years. The rest of the content is skins and AI garbage.

It shouldn't cost hundreds of millions of dollars to create an iterative series entry in ANY game IP. Blockbuster movies with dozens of stars taking home tens of millions of dollars each don't often approach that cost.

You can like the games all you want, but there is literally ZERO explanation for such high development costs outside of legitimately poor management. I say that as someone who works in software. A budget like that for ONE CoD entry is absolutely bonkers.

And that's after they supposedly spent years streamlining the pipeline to make them cheaper/easier to produce! From my perspective, they failed miserably at that effort.

There are a lot of PS5 owners who were a twinkle in their parents' eye when some of these IP last saw a fresh entry. Sony would be dumb not to revive as many of these old franchises as possible and update them for modern audiences.

Not everything needs to be the next big blockbuster. There's no reason some of their fabled IP couldn't get solid entries if they were built with modest budgets and passionate developers.

I've been dying for Sony to do what Nintendo does and license IP out to devs that have a vision. Even if they're middle of the road, that's still better to get the IP back out there in the conscious of gamers and (re)build a modest audience than to let them collect dust forever.

***** it. Give 'em Killzone. Who cares if it's a different style of Killzone game (should they ape the Helldivers co-op gameplay) or a different type of game than Arrowhead makes (if remains an FPS). Give them something with a little more meat and let them cook.

The fact the chode he replied to is trying to push an "anti-woke" talking point at the creative director of a game that completely lambasts and satirizes the sort of fascist ideology whose supporters would take issue with DEI is well beyond my daily recommended dose of irony.

@Max_the_German From what I gather, Mocrosoft brass aren't super pleased with the gaming division's spending with such a long time until they see any ROI.

I think we are already seeing Microsoft's strategy be put in place piece by piece. They are improving the infrastructure needed (up and down the stack) to support putting their games on any device with wifi.

They are going to put far more capital into those investments over hardware development. They will not truly exit the hardware space, but they will adopt Microsoft's broader strategy of producing halo devices for their tech and not expecting a massive place in the market (see: Surface). Any real share is just bonus. The goal is to show other hardware manufacturing partners how to fully utilize their software at a baseline level.

They'll create "Xbox by Microsoft" hardware as we know it. But they'll ALSO let partners create "Xbox by [enter manufacturer]" devices. It'll be more like what Valve tried with the Steambox years back (and where they seem to be going with SteamOS on handhelds).

They can then just focus on making better game UI software than Valve (or trying, at least) so it can go on numerous device types, and improving their support for third party publishing. It's the only way they can REMOTELY hope to make their money back from their spending spree.

I have had this on Switch for a while and, sadly, it just doesn't live up to the promise of the concept in terms of gameplay.

It's just not very deep and the tower defense mechanics are poorly implemented/thought out.

I LOVE the concept (big sucker for videogames where you play as a toy), love tower defense games, love shooters... thought it'd be right up my alley. But, at least last I played it, it was just not up to snuff. It LOOKS the part, but it in no way holds its own on the gameplay side of things.

Okami was, unknowingly at the time, the first Zelda-like game I ever played. And I ADORED it. I never went back and replayed it in fear of scuffing the rose tint on my glasses, but I still hold it in extremely high regard (even after playing plenty more Zelda-like titles).

I cannot WAIT to see how they update the game with modern gameplay elements and mechanics. I feel they could do some amazing stuff.

I've been surprised Farcry hasn't done anything with extraction elements or leaning into more survival-style gameplay sooner. Seems it'd be ripe for a "plane crash and then fend for yourself and build stuff" sort of gameplay loop.

Can't say I'm excited for a time limit, but I'll wait to see how it plays out.

I'm playing it now and am enjoying it. I like the tweaks it made to the formula. It's not revolutionary, but it's real solid. I'm enjoying it more than 3, that's for sure.

All I want from 4 (all of I've wanted since 2), is for a Borderlands game to have a TRUE endgame. I never enjoy replaying story mode. Ever. Especially in such a large game.

They need to have a robust, dynamic, repeatable gameplay system/mechanic that gives it an endgame like Diablo, Division, Destiny, or other ARPGs. I would Borderlands games waaaaaaay longer if there was actually stuff to do after the credits rolled. I absolutely loathe that all they really do is give you New Game+.

Let us loose in the world, generate dynamic missions and world events, let us rerun missions/bosses, and create some unique stuff to do only in endgame. But, for the love of GOD, do not force us to replay the story repeatedly. It's so so boring.

IMO that's unacceptable nowadays for an online product. Simple as.

Best event of the year for reveals. Shame it had worthless awards slapped onto it.

As someone who only checked the announcements and didn't bother with the show, that was the best show of the year BY FAR. Those reveals outright WILD.

If they want people to care, they need to produce a show that doesn't feel like it's targeted purely to teen boys who have access to mommy's purse. Until then, it'll continue to feel more like a marketing stunt and not a legitimate rewards show.

The fact the abbreviation is"KO" is super cheeky.

I wish more games used toys as their basis. I loved that one wave shooter a few years back that used the idea (just wish it was better than it ended up being).

May buy this just to support the creative vision even though I don't like fighting games.

@Juvenlast This is actually my biggest critique of the game. It makes no sense.

They proved they can let you do it. It's not archaically hard coded or any some such nonsense.

I expect they want people to replay the game to try new builds but the fact of that matter is: people have lives. They have other games. Hard limits on a game forces all players to replay, and many very well may, but many (like myself) will instead DRASTICALLY reduce their potential engagement.

I simply will not replay a massive RPG. Especially those with big moral choices. I play the game, initially, how I would make choices. The "role play" element is me inserting myself into the game. That's the fun. To have ME exist within the game world. (I could never replay Mass Effect because I EARNED that story. I don't WANT to be any other version of Shepherd in that story.)

Forcing me to replay to try a different build won't happen. I don't want to re-experience the story because I'd again want to make choices AS ME. I, for one, don't want to essentially "act" or role play as a completely different person. That's not fun to me (I know for some it is).

So if I can't easily respec, I play it once and never mess around with anything else. If I can respec, I'd be making my own fun trying new things, replaying what I can (depending on the game), etc. THAT is what boosts my engagement.

And what irks me is that it's a simple fix and DOES NOT impact anyone who does want to replay a game from beginning to end in order to respec/re-experience it. They can still choose to do that if respec was made easier/allowed infinitely. Players can FORCE that guard rail upon themselves; no one is stopping them.from making a new save. But if the option to respec indefinitely is not available, it cannot be REMOVED by players who want to play the way I (and it seems you) want.

It makes no logical sense to me. At all.

I'm having more fun with it than I did with Overwatch. And yes, I understand its general gameplay is pretty much copy-pasted. But it's amazing what happens when I give a ***** and/or know things about the characters I'm playing as. I don't need to watch a 3 minute cinematic every 4 months to get drip-fed lore.

Plus, despite characters and elements being similar, it has successfully mixed and matched so many elements of so many characters that VERY few are truly 1:1 clones. They all have their own flavor.

Also... it's fun.

The first one was such a gem. Played it on Gamepass way back when. Always gave me lighthearted Metroidvania/Ratchet & Clank vibes.

Not sure how I feel about the third person perspective switch, as I really liked the immersion of the first person camera. But if the game is as satisfying to work through, I'll keep my eye on it.

@Nepp67 That's the first big AAA game I am aware of to do so. Doesn't mean smaller games didn't do it first, though.

@Xbox_Dashboard HD2 did not lead the way with this practice, as others have noted.

@get2sammyb Delta Force is also dropping on PC this week, too. That's looking to be a F2P Battlefield/COD alternative.

The market is SATURATED with juggernauts AND better made games than Xdefiant ever was. Plain and simple.

Its netcode and lack of content (and awful cosmetic content) doomed it. Simple as.

Why the hell would they only make these things available for a limited time? That's moronic.