clvr

"It always amuses me how Nintendo is always exempt from these kind of discussions. It's always Sony who needs an answer to Game Pass or who needs a better PC strategy."

I mean, it's not amusing, it's painfully obvious.
Nintendo had the foresight of creating their own bubble in order not to compete directly with the other behemoths, cause they knew they wouldn't have had a chance on an economical and technological standpoint.
The fact that they are exempt from this discussion is itself proof that they've made the smartest choice; not everything needs to be homogenized, and I think that's Sony's main problem.

Sony are very good at what they do, but they don't seem to have the same foresight in that they're still openly competing with MS, and we all know that's never a good idea, since MS can play the long game, bleed money for decades, and still come out on top at the end.

Sony don't have the same luxury, and that's why I think MS's focus on GamePass and services is more beneficial to Sony than MS at the moment, because if MS wanted to take the battle to Sony's own turf they'd "lose" now, but certainly "win" in the long run.

TL;DR: it's expected of Sony to respond to MS because they're still fighting in more or less the same space, although they've been differentiating their businesses these last few years.
If Sony didn't want to openly compete, I'm afraid they'd have to create their own niche like Nintendo did, cause you simply cannot expect to compete with MS's basically infinite resources.

"virtually every internal studio at Activision is now working on Call of Duty"

I mean, no disrespect to COD fans, but surely noone is happy about this, not even them, right? 😅

@Daveuppercut I thought the same 😂
Wingsuit aside, they were in Necromunda and that released like last week.

It's funny how these humongous AAA franchises like Battlefield are too big to fail or even risk, so what do they do? Poach everything from every other game under the sun.

I'm not saying pulling ideas from other games is wrong, the contrary, but the methodical way in which trends have been employed these last few years makes a lot of AAA games look bland and all alike to me.
At least we got id and DOOM keeping the old school alive 🤩

Looking forward to hearing more about this one, it sounds intriguing!

I'll optimistically wait and see as I really like DQ, but if there's one series where it sounds misguided to shoehorn in the usual, edgy buzzwords, that's DQ.

I really hope by "adult" they don't mean "actually what edgy teenagers think of adult, namely swears, violence and testosterone" like 90% of games out there.

@TeapotBuddha yeah, it's mind boggling.
I had to pick up my brain with a spoon after the Mansion's level designer explained the system they came up with for NPCs' pathfinding through modular rooms.

Btw I also really like the Victorian/late 19th century time period (and thus steampunk as well), I tend to prefer it to high fantasy but unfortunately the latter is way more prevalent in games.
That's one of the main things that drew me to Dishonored, other than I really like stealth games and immersive sims 😃

I'm playing this at the moment, such an amazing game.
Immersive sims really are something else.

Oh and if you're interested, NoClip recently posted their 1-hour documentary about the series, and it even details The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack In The Slab, such memorable levels.
Ok I'll stop gushing now 😛

Give me another Deus Ex you cowards! 😃

The sad thing is not that they'll be releasing this at full price for the third time in as many console generations, the sad thing is it'll still sell like hotcakes despite being a 2013 PS3 clunky, outdated piece of wood.

Oh look, the fox and the grapes in this comment section 😛

Yeah I saved them in my notes 😃
If you got time, maybe send a couple of vocals so that I get what kind of melodies you had in mind for the vocals 😃

Btw I'm not sure, I've read that 2022 should be ok for concerts, but I've also heard news of very big Italian popstars delaying all the way to 2023 already, so that doesn't fill me with confidence to be honest 🙁

In any case I'll have to be at a mewithoutYou concert before they disband, even though I already know they won't come to Italy cause no band I listen to ever does. They go to every other EU country, but not Italy lol
Says a lot about our musical culture and appreciation ahahhaah
Oh and I'm still sour (should that be bitter? Lol I get confused sometimes) I couldn't catch Dance Gavin Dance in Berlin last year lol

@Jayofmaya thanks for the advice, I'll nab it as soon as it goes on sale 😃

Heh, to be honest not much going on at the moment music-wise
As I told you a lot happened these last few months and I just restarted practicing guitar daily a week or so ago, but I'm still a bit busy with other projects.
They've lifted some restrictions here so I'm looking for people to play with, but unfortunately I've found noone so far in my area.
One of the perks of living in a city certainly was the abundance of musicians lol

Btw I'll put some time aside this weekend and record some clips for Achromatic Minds, if you'd like 😃

I'm really digging SO at the moment so I'd be all over a sequel, as the first one is pretty janky in some aspects (and it doesn't really hold up visually).

That said, the grinding/bouncing/"floor is lava" mechanic makes it way more fun to me than most other by the numbers open world games.
Games like this one, Infamous SS, or Just Cause 3, for example, as shallow as they are, they at least have a satisfying traversal mechanic that isn't just "follow the dotted line", and keep me more engaged throughout compared to GTA, AC, Far Cry, etc., at least until the inevitable repetition gets stale (usually the 15-20 hour mark for me personally).

Also, I really dig the whole "happy go lucky skater punk apocalypse" aesthetic, though I get why the humor and general tone can be grating to a lot of people (and myself as well sometimes).

"The narrative, based on the opening exchanges, stinks, of course."

😂😂😂😂😂😂

Sammy's still schooling weaboos, I see 😂

Ha, I'm playing this on Switch at the moment 😃
It underwhelmed me a bit at the beginning, but then I "got" how progress works and I've been having quite fun since.

@Jayofmaya hey there Jay, how are you?
God I just now realized you're still waiting on news for the song, I'm so freaking sorry! It slipped out of my mind as it's been a hectic few months for me.
Let me know if you still need/want anything and I'll make sure to properly set some time apart this time!

On topic: I was going to ask exactly that pn some HL forum before plunging in, as I like to experience things as best as I can and I was wondering if jumping right into BM might be a good idea or if I'm better off playing the original first. Would you say BM?

Heh, to be honest I already find their triple-A, €60 games as dull and unappealing as possible, so there's absolutely no chance I'll try out their F2P games. It's a model I really despise and don't want to support.

Ubisoft, call me when you make another Rayman, as that's something I'd instantly get behind!

I've recently played Portal 1&2 and now I understand why people are upset that they don't really do games anymore, as those 2 are definitely among the best games ever made.
Guess I'll have to catch up with Half-Life as well!

@residentmeevil @get2sammyb you know what? This is a super cool initiative, I wouldn't mind if you did this for other franchises in the future!

(I haven't watched it yet as I'm busy right now but I'll definitely get to it later!)

It looks cool but I don't know, some elements could definitely end up contrasting each other by the sounds of it.

Choose your bounty, upgrades, and aiming down sight for example seem pretty out of place in an old school shooter, hope they're not there just because like in a lot of other games.

It would be super cool!
I'm playing the first one on my PC on and off and I'm really enjoying it.
It has good ideas but it's a bit jank, it would be awesome if a sequel improved on its mechanics!

The fact that they managed to still have annual COD despite the pandemic is pretty terrifying.
I can't imagine the conditions devs will probably have had to put up with in the last year.

@themightyant yeah agreed.
Unfortunately though, our brain is hard wired to whip out logical fallacies and heuristics left and right, hence why greatly appreciate people taking their time to analyze and understand stuff.
It's hard, but super rewarding and basically the only way to better the world.

@Quintumply thanks for the quick reply, have a good one!

@themightyant wow, great informative comment mate!
I was aware of a couple of factors you listed but I hadn't thought of the others.

@Quintumply does this game support gyro aiming?
I'm just curious to see if Sony's pushing it for its first party exclusive this gen, it would be super cool 😃

I consider myself lucky that I don't like looters and mostly stick to single player games, cause when I see this kind of news I can just laugh it off, though I feel bad for the fans.

@Shigurui on a side note, I noticed a few days ago a banner on Steam telling me they're planning to get Automata up to date with the console version.
Better late than never!

So if anyone is planning to play it on PC, I'd advise you wait until the patch drops 😃

@Ralizah I knew I'd find you here ahahahha
As far as I've seen, the two of us are probably the most fervent gyro advocates in here lol

Yeah it really is a game changer.
By now I'm so used to it on both PC and Switch, that, when a game doesn't support it (on Switch) or I can't get it to work (on PC) it feels kinda weird.

For example, I still haven't played Dishonored 2 because it doesn't let me keep gyro on; I booted it up right after finishing the first one and I got real mad that I cannot play 2 like I played the first one.
Then again, Dishonored is not a shooter so it's not a big deal.
I'm playing Outer Wilds at the moment, and I don't use gyro for it, nor Portal.
I generally use it when I need to be precise, but in a non-FPS it's just a nice plus, not a necessity.
DOOM Eternal, now that's a necessity ahahahah

Yessssss! Patchy implementation aside, I hope it finally becomes a standard this gen as there's absolutely no reason not to have it as an option.

If it becomes a standard on PS5, it could be the decisive feature to sway me towards that, instead of an XBox.

@GamingFan4Lyf yeah my advice would be to do those that sound interesting story-wise and leave the others behind.
I think I did 70% or so.

For example I didn't really like those that have you protect the parading robots, so I skipped those.

@GamingFan4Lyf I beat Automata last year and can confirm that sidequests only reappear if you hadn't completed them beforehand, and new ones become available on subsequent playthroughs 👍🏻

@fR_eeBritney "Maybe the problem is that the people making it are paid too much... "

I wish that was the problem!
Thing is, the people actually putting in the long hard hours are underpaid and treated like cattle, while management cuts losses by laying off devs and check out their bonuses.

Obviously this is an exaggeration and not every workplace is like that (I hope), but if people like Bobby Kotick are legally allowed to lay off 190+ employees (which means 190+ more struggling families) while at the same time awarding himself a $200 million bonus on top of his $40 million salary, well, I have no hope for this world in general.

"Despite mixed reviews, Days Gone was the best selling physical game in the United Kingdom in the week of release. It went on to be the best-selling software release in all the format sales charts for three consecutive weeks. Days Gone would also debut at the number one position in the retail charts in Switzerland, where it remain there for three consecutive weeks.

In Japan, Days Gone outsold two other PlayStation 4 exclusive games at launch, God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn. It went on to surpass the lifetime sales of God of War and another exclusive PlayStation 4 game, The Last Guardian. In its first three days after launch, it sold approximately 114,319 physical units.

In North America, Days Gone was the second best selling video game software for the month of April, behind Mortal Kombat 11. This marks Days Gone as the 7th highest debut in sales for a Sony-published title, and the best selling game developed by Bend Studio.

Days Gone proceeded to become the second best-selling video game software in North America for April 2019. By June 2019, it was the eighth best-selling video game of the year. It was the 19th best-selling game of 2019 in the US.

According to game director Jeff Ross, Days Gone sold more copies than all of Bend Studio's previous games combined."

Excuse me, could you repeat please, Mr. Garvin?
Still sure you wanna throw your customers/fans under the bus and not the executives?

P.S.: From Wikipedia, I edited out the links to sources (obviously) but you can easily find them on the article.

Yeah I definitely get where he's coming from, but if you wanna take it out on someone, vent to the management that decided a few million copies for a new IP isn't enough, instead of accusing people of being cheapskates;
since, y'know, those who denied the sequel are also the same who apply prices, decide how much is enough, and are probably leagues richer than the average Joe's you're asking to be good boys and swallow the pill.

@Bliquid "corridor movie with the feels" made me chuckle quite a lot ahahahah

Please no.
TLOU was good, but let the poor thing rest in peace lol

I'm pretty sure I'll get a PS5 later down the line, but I'm holding pff to see what kind of game they announce; I sure hope Sony doesn't reduce its catalog to UC- and TLOU-style games cause that's not my cup of tea.

Also, this just occurred to me: what's the point of remaking TLOU when the remaster is included for "free" in the PS+ Collection? 😅
Wouldn't that mean that anyone with a PS5 and a passing interest will already have played it by the time it comes out?
We're not talking Wii U ports noone bought here, we're talking following up on a console with 100+ million units sold!

Gotta be the least necessary remake ever 😟

Super pumped!

Also, it might be a stupid question, but is demon days some kind of idiom?
Cause I've heard/seen it here and there multiple times over the internet but I don't understand what it means, and if I look it up I only find Gorillaz-related stuff.
At first I thought it was their thing, but then I found other references in other songs, movies, etc. so I can't really wrap my head around it.

How can you make an action RPG and not include the most used and ubiquitous weapon ever?

I'm just here to applaud that subheader 👌🏻

All these acquisitions in recent years are really worrying.
It's pretty apparent by now that anti-trust measures should be way more restrictive than they are, we cannot be expected to give money to only 3 companies for Pete's sake.

@Feena agreed. I managed to squeeze in 60-70 hours in several different stretches, but I never completed it for that reason.
I absolutely love its mechanics, but the story does nothing to push you forward in any meaningful way, so you kinda have to keep motivating yourself instead of relying on the game.

Conversely, I'm playing DQXIS at the moment, and I've clocked in 70 hours in the last month playing only that, and I'm still not tired of it or anything.
An interesting world and a more cohesive story certainly go a long way!

This game has some of the best mechanics I've ever tried in JRPG's, from the way Jobs work to the battle system, which is in my top 3 turn-based systems of all time.

So if you like JRPG's for their mechanics, by all means get it!
It helps that it's also gorgeous to look at and the OST is amazing.
The only real letdown is how disjointed the 8 characters' stories are, which is certainly pretty damning for a JRPG; all in all it's a great game though.

You can't act like people are overreacting on the internet, if your own title says that this is the straw that broke the camel's back.
Not only are you propagating the same narrative while feigning disapproval, you're also attracting the usual fanboy musings and tinfoil-hattery in the comments.

Sounds like you want to have the cake and eat it too.

Honestly doesn't look anything like DOOM, though luckily it doesn't look too much like the generic COD-like FPS's you usually see around either.
The aesthetics remind me of Rage 2, while the gameplay is certainly way more Wolfy than DOOM.

@Welsh_Will you're welcome!
To be fair I'm not really well versed in Soulslike as I only played DS1, but yeah the principles are similar, even if Eternal plays 1000 times faster: listen to the game, watch the animations, and learn. Personally I think Eternal amply exceeds DS1 in this regard.

The Marauder really seems hard at first cause he works a bit differently from the other enemies, but this is a game about learning and adapting so it's not a problem for long.
Once you learn to stay distant to bait out his axe attack, he then charges you and exposes himself. Rinse, repeat.
One thing the game doesn't explain all too clearly is the doggo, though.
It only comes out when the Marauder is hit by a projectile while his shield is up (an enemy projectile works as well), so don't shoot until the eyes flash green.
Trust me, they become a pushover by the end of the campaign 😃

Hope you enjoy it when you get it, by all means let me know how you fare!
Have a good one mate 😃

@Welsh_Will the game is definitely hard, but if you trust it and lean onto all the mechanics and tips it gives you, you'll have an awesome time and keep getting noticeably better throughout the campaign!
The DLC is definitely way more brutal, so focus on the campaign at first and don't be ashamed to lower the difficulty if a particular encounter hands you your butt over and over.

Regarding the Marauder (the enemy you mentioned), it's actually funny cause at first everyone hated it, but with the passing of time you can see in Eternal-related content on YT etc. that pretty much everyone who was willing to play the game as intended understood very soon how the Marauder works.
Trust me, after you get the hang of it it's actually one of the easiest enemies in the game, and there are countless guides out there.

Hope it might help you!

@LordSteev you're more than welcome mate!

@LordSteev no problem mate, don't you worry at all!

Sorry to hear that, I mean it.
I don't know about distant relationships, I kinda had one in the past but we weren't that far tbf so I really can't give you my 2 cents, sorry.

Hope it gets better though! 😃