Ah yes, that "tremendous response" that made it one of the fastest half-price sales that I've ever seen from a Ubi title on PSN.
I watched a short stream of it on release, and couldn't justify trying it when I could get the same kicks from Black Flag, without any other players trying to grief me. If it hadn't spent so long in development, maybe the result wouldn't feel so stale, but who knows.
The guy said it himself; for what he did right under his employer's nose, he had it coming. Whether you agree with what he did or not, actions like that have consequences and you don't just get to carry on from what must have been a major breach of contract. If not several.
And the increasingly obnoxious, ego-inflated vocal minority in the HD2 community is definitely getting old. I'll stick to avoiding the cesspits of Reddit, Discord and the Steam forums - the normal folk who simply play the game are much more tolerable (380mm Barrages notwithstanding).
"Our teams have listened to the community, have learned valuable lessons, and are driving to the future"
If it were that simple, BF2042 would have retained the many lessons learnt from prior Battlefield (and Battlefront) games and not been a worthless, trend-chasing flop.
The gameplay, particularly combat is fun, and I didn't find the voice acting as bad as many reviewers suggested (it's pretty average, and still miles ahead of truly awful ones coughXenobladeChronicles2).
The downsides are some of the puzzle-platform sections, the otherwise-fun combat becoming very samey towards the end of the game (scattered boss fights really becoming the only highlight), and the previously serviceable story falling off a cliff in the final stretch - from late datalog entries including revelations from dialogue that were not, in fact, revealed (despite them being quite obvious by that point) and the more interesting sidequest subplots just fizzling out without any sense of resolution.
As much as I'd love this, I'm long past the point of paying full launch price for Ubisoft games.
As an amalgamation of the some of the worst industry trends, I can't fully support them - if you launch a game at a high price point, then throw in a bunch of immersion-breaking, tacky cosmetic items and a "premium currency", I'm only ever going to buy it a high reduction - if you add extra paid seasonal/battlepass BS to abuse FOMO, expect me to pay even less; I remember when I only encountered that nonsense in FtP MMOs run by South Korean publishers and that's where it should have stayed, it has no place in full price games. Diablo IV's current sale price, for example, is finally at a point where it's somewhat tempting - where if they hadn't included all the predatory monetisation, I wouod have bought it day one.
@KundaliniRising333 To each their own indeed, but as a fan of the original (and I know, that inevitably gives me a heavy bias) I don't see the "virtually unchanged" part. I get your issues with some of the jank - I had to laugh at the Warrior half-floating on the Ogre's head with the mounted attacks - but as far as I've seen there a lot of changes. Far from "the same game as 2013" (which I still play from time to time), I see what seems to be the same core gameplay and aesthetic with a lot of adjustments, upgrades and QoL changes, which is exactly what I want from a sequel.
...Though I do hope we can properly make the pawns shut up this time, and that is surely wishful thinking.
But yeah, I can't fault your caution. "If in doubt, wait and see" is never a bad policy.
Sorcerer in full plate armour? Interesting, I wonder if that means the class restrictions on gear (outside of weapons) have been loosened and there's now more freedom to play around with equipment.
Also I was wondering what their class ability would be and, well, that seems solid.
The main thing I want to see more (or more explanation) of before release is Pawn Inclinations, or the seeming lack of them and how that's been reworked. From the glimpses we've had of the status screens they don't seem to exist in the same way, with just one slot and no sign of the old names, so I'm hoping they're just something that you can set and keep now. The old way of having pawns picking up your behaviour over time instead of acting how you wanted them to act - and needing to go out of your way to maintain or retrain them - could be tiresome, and one of the few gripes that I had with the pawn system.
If it's well-implemented, I could definitely see it being my preferred choice - it would need to strike a good balance and progression.
If it allows you to tackle all available side content without massively outlevelling the story or vice-versa (something that a lot of jrpgs have struggled with once they transitioned from unmarked, entirely missable sidequests that primarily rewarded you with storylines and unique items to lists of Objectives that mainly bloat your EXP bar), while not tilting the scales against the player in the process, then I'm all for it.
If they don't get it right... well, I'm glad that it'll be a difficulty setting/option and not a mandatory feature.
Comments 159
Re: Ubisoft Thanks Players for 'Tremendous Response' to Skull and Bones, Season 2 on the Horizon
Ah yes, that "tremendous response" that made it one of the fastest half-price sales that I've ever seen from a Ubi title on PSN.
I watched a short stream of it on release, and couldn't justify trying it when I could get the same kicks from Black Flag, without any other players trying to grief me. If it hadn't spent so long in development, maybe the result wouldn't feel so stale, but who knows.
Re: 'Negative Sentiment' Prompts Helldivers 2 Dev to Put Releasing Polar Patriots to a Vote
Alas, the annoying ones among them have since started up a fresh batch of "negative sentiment" to complain about the contents of the warbond.
And thus balance has been restored and the great wheel spins once more, that we may suffer yet another article about them before long.
Re: Helldivers Turn on Arrowhead Following Undemocratic Firing of Community Manager
No.
The guy said it himself; for what he did right under his employer's nose, he had it coming. Whether you agree with what he did or not, actions like that have consequences and you don't just get to carry on from what must have been a major breach of contract. If not several.
And the increasingly obnoxious, ego-inflated vocal minority in the HD2 community is definitely getting old. I'll stick to avoiding the cesspits of Reddit, Discord and the Steam forums - the normal folk who simply play the game are much more tolerable (380mm Barrages notwithstanding).
Re: Next Battlefield Is Being Made By the Series' Largest Ever Team, EA Boasts
"Our teams have listened to the community, have learned valuable lessons, and are driving to the future"
If it were that simple, BF2042 would have retained the many lessons learnt from prior Battlefield (and Battlefront) games and not been a worthless, trend-chasing flop.
Suffice to say, I won't be holding my breath.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Stellar Blade?
7.5
The gameplay, particularly combat is fun, and I didn't find the voice acting as bad as many reviewers suggested (it's pretty average, and still miles ahead of truly awful ones coughXenobladeChronicles2).
The downsides are some of the puzzle-platform sections, the otherwise-fun combat becoming very samey towards the end of the game (scattered boss fights really becoming the only highlight), and the previously serviceable story falling off a cliff in the final stretch - from late datalog entries including revelations from dialogue that were not, in fact, revealed (despite them being quite obvious by that point) and the more interesting sidequest subplots just fizzling out without any sense of resolution.
Re: $130 Version of Star Wars Outlaws Under Fire as Ubisoft Prices Increase
As much as I'd love this, I'm long past the point of paying full launch price for Ubisoft games.
As an amalgamation of the some of the worst industry trends, I can't fully support them - if you launch a game at a high price point, then throw in a bunch of immersion-breaking, tacky cosmetic items and a "premium currency", I'm only ever going to buy it a high reduction - if you add extra paid seasonal/battlepass BS to abuse FOMO, expect me to pay even less; I remember when I only encountered that nonsense in FtP MMOs run by South Korean publishers and that's where it should have stayed, it has no place in full price games. Diablo IV's current sale price, for example, is finally at a point where it's somewhat tempting - where if they hadn't included all the predatory monetisation, I wouod have bought it day one.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Gets 18 Minutes of New, 4K Character Class Gameplay on PS5
@KundaliniRising333 To each their own indeed, but as a fan of the original (and I know, that inevitably gives me a heavy bias) I don't see the "virtually unchanged" part. I get your issues with some of the jank - I had to laugh at the Warrior half-floating on the Ogre's head with the mounted attacks - but as far as I've seen there a lot of changes. Far from "the same game as 2013" (which I still play from time to time), I see what seems to be the same core gameplay and aesthetic with a lot of adjustments, upgrades and QoL changes, which is exactly what I want from a sequel.
...Though I do hope we can properly make the pawns shut up this time, and that is surely wishful thinking.
But yeah, I can't fault your caution. "If in doubt, wait and see" is never a bad policy.
Re: Dragon's Dogma 2 Gets 18 Minutes of New, 4K Character Class Gameplay on PS5
Sorcerer in full plate armour? Interesting, I wonder if that means the class restrictions on gear (outside of weapons) have been loosened and there's now more freedom to play around with equipment.
Also I was wondering what their class ability would be and, well, that seems solid.
The main thing I want to see more (or more explanation) of before release is Pawn Inclinations, or the seeming lack of them and how that's been reworked. From the glimpses we've had of the status screens they don't seem to exist in the same way, with just one slot and no sign of the old names, so I'm hoping they're just something that you can set and keep now. The old way of having pawns picking up your behaviour over time instead of acting how you wanted them to act - and needing to go out of your way to maintain or retrain them - could be tiresome, and one of the few gripes that I had with the pawn system.
Re: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Reveals New Dynamic Difficulty Setting Where Enemy Levels Scale
If it's well-implemented, I could definitely see it being my preferred choice - it would need to strike a good balance and progression.
If it allows you to tackle all available side content without massively outlevelling the story or vice-versa (something that a lot of jrpgs have struggled with once they transitioned from unmarked, entirely missable sidequests that primarily rewarded you with storylines and unique items to lists of Objectives that mainly bloat your EXP bar), while not tilting the scales against the player in the process, then I'm all for it.
If they don't get it right... well, I'm glad that it'll be a difficulty setting/option and not a mandatory feature.