Comments 788

Re: Remedy Ditches Free-to-Play Model for Upcoming Multiplayer Game

Stragen8

I have mixed feelings on this. If they can revamp it to feel like a quality game that can be enjoyed both offline and online then I'm all for it!

However, if it's a multiplayer only game still, I don't see it making a dent when the market is flooded with F2P multiplayer games or premium games with established IPs. Games like Exoprimal etc have generally seemed to fail to catch on when they require an upfront investment for something that's online multiplayer only.

Re: AI Could Make Grand Theft Auto NPCs 'Really Interesting and Fun', Says Take-Two CEO

Stragen8

I would love to see how AI could be integrated with RPGs games like Elder Scrolls/Fallout.

I totally understand the issues surrounding AI and jobs, but if integrated correctly I really could see it bringing a new dimension to games. Graphics are no longer a leap between generations, but these are the types of gameplay advances that can really make games feel deeper and 'next gen'

Re: Poll: Do You Think GTA 6 Will Release on PS4?

Stragen8

I hope not. 5 was fantastic but is so held back by releasing on PS3, I really hope they learned and will make this current gen only, we know it'll get insane support for the next decade, I hope that support can take advantage of current power.

Re: Destiny 2 Fans Demand Refunds for Next DLC After Bungie Layoffs

Stragen8

'company laid off employees because they're not making enough money, so let's cancel preorders and show them!'. How does that not just compound the problem to laying off more people. This isn't a small indie dev, they don't care about anything but $$. Gaming landscape has changed. All these companies care about is maximizing profits. Micro transactions and dlc of PS3 era have become 20$ skins and drip fed crumbles of content.

The fact that they relied on a 2017 game to fund 1100 employees and development of 3 games is mind boggling. Especially when said quality of releases is not good.

Re: PS5 Live-Service Game Marathon Has Reportedly Been Delayed to 2025

Stragen8

Revisiting the PS3 made me realize how many games/genres Sony was pushing in those days. Especially on the publishing end.

They really need to step up their Indie/publishing smaller titles. Investing tons of money into these live service failures is not helping them. I get it, from a business perspective they need to chase trends, but man I miss the days of random games like Fat Princess.

Re: PlayStation's Push for Live Service Games Hasn't Been Going Smoothly

Stragen8

They should have let their studios experiment with small scale live service titles to test the waters.

Let the teams be creative and experiment and figure out what works and what doesn't.

The shift in gaming to chase the latest trends has never worked. This new Sony strategy is going to bite them. They went from releasing so many unique games to only single player third person adventure games -which was okay when everyone else was doing multiplayer - but have lost that unique and fun edge over the last decade.

Re: Now Naughty Dog Is Reportedly Downsizing, Cutting Multiple Contract Jobs

Stragen8

It's crazy that Bungie was able to get the game basically canceled.

As a hardcore player of Destiny 2, their live service is terrible. They have the unique position of having ZERO competitors in the space and great gunplay. All their core activities are so stale, their revenue models (seasons) have been so redundant and so much in need of a shakeup, they're being done away with next year.

U2, U3 and Factions had fantastic multiplayer and engagement. Especially U3. Let ND do their thing, don't turn it into the grindy checklist that Destiny is.

Although ND did massively screw up with U4 multiplayer which is insane to me since all they had to do was copy U3

Re: Jim Ryan Praises PlayStation Home for Being '10-15 Years Ahead of Its Time'

Stragen8

Home was a neat concept. I enjoyed the 'marketing' aspects of it, as I could visit a virtual RE5 booth and play mini games and such. I think I remember a virtual E3 in there one year.

I had a schoolmate who lived in PS Home, for him it was a second a life and he had a whole community there, it had its audiences and would be neat to see a revival for people who love that sort of thing.

Re: Tomb Raider Developer Crystal Dynamics Hit with Layoffs as Embracer Crumbling Continues

Stragen8

Honestly, it's time for Tomb Raider to find a new development home. I wish Sony would have got it and used it as a way to give us more adventurer style games while Uncharted takes a break. Could have piggybacked the franchises to reduce the franchise fatigue between them.

As someone who played each CD Tomb Raider with the launch of Legend (and as a young child attempted to play the originals on PC), I'd consider myself a pretty big fan. Underworld was one of my favorite PS3 games.

2013 was fun, but very flawed when compared to it's main competitor, Uncharted. Rise was very enjoyable and a clear step in the right direction with a few flaws.

But Shadow.....what a hot pile of absolute garbage that should disappear (yeah I know it wasn't fully developed by CD, but they still had a hand in it)

Re: Poor Immortals of Aveum Sales Leads to Significant Lay-Offs

Stragen8

That's a shame.

Unfortunately I guess I'm part of the problem. This is a game I looked forward to playing and something I would have gotten day 1 a few years ago.

However, PS Premium and the industry at large has taught me to be patient and itll be free on some cheap subscription soon, so why shell put 70$ or whatever when I can do a one month sub somewhere for way cheaper to play it?

Re: TV Show Review: Twisted Metal - Car Crash Entertainment

Stragen8

Honestly, this show will fail mainly due to launching on Peacock.

Who has peacock?? And this isn't TLOU level of great to draw in subscriptions.

If it was on something most people had already like Netflix it probably would have done OK. Can't see it faring well on here.

Re: Bungie's PS5 Marathon Reboot Recruits Top Halo Infinite Talent

Stragen8

I hope this is good, but the PvP aspects of Destiny are, honestly, not very good or well supported.

For an 'ultimate live service game' I'd expect frequent updates and changes in a large scale to the game like Fortnite etc. Destiny has had, what, 1 new multiplayer map in like 3 years.

And don't get me started on Gambit. A mode I actually quite enjoy.

Hopefully being a new IP itll get loads of support and content from the get go

Re: Site News: Where's Our Exoprimal PS5, PS4 Review?

Stragen8

Similar sentiment as others.

This type of game screams F2P and I can't see it catching on without adopting that model.

There is just too much out there already for people to drop 70$ on an online multiplayer game, especially one that's a new franchise.

Re: Ex-Apple Exec Tasked with Spearheading PlayStation's Mobile Gaming Division Has Already Left

Stragen8

Sony Mobile output has been so bad.

The new sackboy game was a clone of a 10 year old game that had its heyday. I'm not sure how anyone greenlit that thing.

I'm all for chasing mobile trends since that's what the market does, but at least copy a recent trend or make it a quality game. There's a level of polish and depth I expect from the Sony IPs, not a cheap knock off with 10 minutes of value.

Re: Want More Resident Evil Remakes? Tell Capcom Which Ones in Official Survey

Stragen8

Re5 is probably my favorite game ever. It needs a remake/overhaul though to give it a more open feel like re4r. They should tone up the darkness in the areas after the town and really expand on them/rework them entirely.

I'd love for 6 to get a remake, but it should be remade into multiple games. Leon's campaign is actually a good setting for a RE game like everything post revelations 2. It should be expanded to a game of its own.

Re: Media Molecule to Cease Live Service for Dreams, Now Working on a New Project

Stragen8

I'm ready for their next game. I bought it day 1 but never really played it past that time.

Really looking forward to what they do next, I love LBP1 and 2 as well as Tearaway.

I hope to see them return to LBP, been playing through Sackboy since it launched on Plus and man did Sony mess up marketing on that one, I had no idea it was the game it is, I love it and would have bought it in a heartbeat had I seen a meaningful ad that actually showed me what it was.

Re: Destiny 2's Root of Nightmares Raid Cleared, World First Crowned

Stragen8

One of my favorite raids, fun mechanics and beautiful encounters. Plus the traversal between encounters is a lot of fun.

Our clan didn't get a contest mode win about 16 hours trying to beat it and couldn't get past the final boss.

It may have been done in 2.5 hours, but it was by no means easy!!

Although when contest mode ended we beat the final boss on the first try easily, so it may end up being on the easier/faster side as far as raids go!

Re: Destiny 2: Lightfall (PS5) - A Brilliant Yet Disappointing Set-Up

Stragen8

I've been a big Destiny advocate on this forum, but Lightfall sucked. It was a rush filled expansion with so many reused assets and lack of meaningful content considering the cost.

The story is horrendous, post campaign if gets a bit better, but it's awful for any new or returning player.

They made some fantastic QoL changes but also some terrible changes to various other things like lost sectors, etc.

I still heavily enjoy the game but this was a massive blunder when the community outlook was at an all time high from the amazing year of Witch Queen.

Re: The Future Looks Bright for Destiny 2, Through Lightfall and Beyond

Stragen8

@rjejr Yeah try to follow the quests in your inventory - you may need to Google some of them if you're confused.

The story doesn't make sense even if you played D1. There's so much that was packed into seasons or lore tabs that aren't there anymore. It's best to watch a video on it if you're interested.

The game is much much better if you have a group of friends to join up with. The best content is the raids, nightfalls and doing the other activities as a group.

Witch queen has a fun and engaging story, with actual story missions that can be enjoyed solo, however, it's not a 60$ solo game. It's a fun 6 hour bonus to the game.

Re: The Future Looks Bright for Destiny 2, Through Lightfall and Beyond

Stragen8

@Darude84 The game is bad at onboarding new players.

It's something they're actively addressing in Light fall though with Guardian Ranks.

The biggest problem is they have removed the first two years of story content for the game, the main campaigns that actually had some story to help onboard new players and get them geared up. So new players are lost in lore and unless you buy Witch Queen, don't have any good story content to do.

Beyond Light is now free with PS+ which helps a bit, but that story isn't very good.

Re: Poll: Did You Love The Last of Us - Episode 5?

Stragen8

Really didn't like the acting/casting for Kathleen. Maybe we just didn't get enough backstory but she wasn't even remotely inspiring, why would anyone follow her lead?

Also the acting felt very awkward and stiff. The rest of the cast has been phenomenal so feel like a huge miss on the one that stands out.

Re: Poll: Was The Last of Us - Episode 3 the Best One Yet?

Stragen8

Loved it. Didn't expect that direction and it worked really well as a vignette of what life is like for some during the events.

This is what I hope for Factions game and it's seasonal stories, if they pursue this live service story approach.

However, those hiking paths are WAY too worn down for something that's supposed to rarely be traveled. Weird complaint I know, but first thing I noticed lol.

Re: Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph Is Out Today on PS5, PS4

Stragen8

@Mostik The grind is still really bad. I jumped back in at WQ. I've found I have the most fun if I don't worry about finishing everything and just hop in with my clan for the activities I enjoy doing and ignoring what I don't.

I really wish the pinnacle grind would change. I only enjoy high difficulty content and it sucks having to grind low level stuff again just to replay the same endgame stuff I was able to do a week ago.