FullMetalWesker

12/15 - Not too bad, though given I recently finished the game, probably not too surprising either.

I was planning on buying it later on, but now I'm not so sure. From what I understand, the game's story seems almost completely detached from the first game, and botches many potential avenues the first game set up (both story and gameplay wise) in favour of a simple revenge story, to the point where I have to wonder why this sequel was made in the first place.
I might still end up getting it later, when the price has dropped a bit, but for now, I can't say that's a certainty.

@Shepherd_Tallon - Most likely. The tentacle things look just like the lyrium veins you could find in Dragon Age Origins, only red.

Given Bioware's recent performance, I can't be that excited for a new Dragon Age, but it would certainly be nice if this game marks a positive turning point for the developer.

If we'd had a Nintendo Direct last week I probably wouldn't have minded at all, but as Nintendo isn't doing directs at the moment (or any of their other E3 things like Nintendo Treehouse), their presence at least was something I missed. Outside of that though, not really; most of the information I was interested in was covered in Sony's PS5 presentation.

Not quite what I was hoping for, but a step in the right direction. Would've preferred a more ambitious game that spanned multiple eras, but there's always the possibility I guess for that to be added later on (though given Battlefront 2's content was likely an attempt to make up for its horrendous launch, that may not be likely).

Admittedly I haven't played any other new games last month, but honestly I'd be hard pressed to find something to match FFVII Remake's soundtrack, it's just that good imo.

8/10 - Messed up Dishonored (didn't read all the options) and Need for Speed, but surprisingly got Wreckfest right (thought this was going to be a cakewalk till that showed up), so not too bad all things considered.

@Enuo - Pretty much this. I didn't necessarily need a gameplay trailer for AC Valhalla at this point (as it's likely similar to Origins and Odyssey), but a video called 'gameplay trailer' should provide at least some footage of what the game is going to play like.

Edit: In general though, I don't really mind either (though both would be ideal) as long as they provide an accurate idea on what the game is going to be like.

I hear a lot of people saying they liked the ending because it means future titles won't be a 1:1 remake of the original. The thing is though, this part here was also not a 1:1 remake of the original, but was instead an enhanced remake that added new bits and expanded on old ones to provide a better version of the original story. A 1:1 remake would not even attempt to tackle that sort of thing, but would instead (much like the Shadow of the Colossus remake) release the whole thing verbatim, with the same turn-based combat, isometric angles, characterisation etc. So even if SE stuck to the same approach they took to the majority of this remake (which if the ending is to be believed will not be what will happens), we would still not be getting a 1:1 remake. So what the ending means, to me at least, is that rather than get an enhanced version of the original like we did with this remake, we're going to be getting an entirely original story whose quality can range wildly and be anything from a masterpiece to a complete train wreck.
Personally, I'm going to remain wary until I see evidence that suggests this won't be the latter, as given SE's track record with FF titles, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that way.

@clvr - You can most definitely play it blind, no problem. The remake takes the Midgar segment from the original and improves upon it greatly, with the characters and themes given a lot more time to breathe rather then just being tossed aside after a few hours. Sure, it's interesting to compare the two, but you don't need to play it to do that; watching a playthrough will have the same effect.

@Ichiban - I've seen others compare him to Charlie Sheen's character in Platoon so no, you're not the only one who saw that.

Gonna agree with the article on this one, this is spoilery as all hell; even as someone who played the original this showed a lot of things I didn't know were in the game, as well as things that were, but I still wish I hadn't seen (like the Hell House). When your initial experience with something from a game comes from a trailer, rather than the game itself, then there's a problem with the trailer imo, and while it's not like it's the first (or last) to do this, that doesn't change what it is.

@LiamCroft - To be fair, all people are doing is pointing to other games and saying "but hey, these games managed to do it, so why can't yours?". You don't really need specialist knowledge to make comments like this, in fact they could be an indicator of just that, but it's one that makes sense; if the only problem was memory on the console itself, then how come other games didn't have that problem? There are of course legitimate answers for this, but they're all different to the one given here, thus the real reason is likely something related (e.g. bad engine, budget constraints), but different to the one Obsidian provided, hence the comments.

A Code Veronica remake would be nice (especially if they can fix the villains), but after two remakes back-to-back, the latter of which probably suffered from a rushed development, it might be best to shelve it for now and work on something else for a bit, then visit it later with a decent development time.

@Gamer83 - Even as someone who probably prefers RE2R to RE7, I can't say going backwards is a good way forward, especially now that we've had two such remakes in the same number of years. At this point, going ahead with a new game that continues on from RE7 in taking the franchise in a new direction is probably the best option; you can always have the Code:Veronica remake afterwards for that more old-school aesthetics, but for now, something new is probably best.

@Powerpellet - "Take a free game. It's ok" Is it though?

I don't think there'd be much point myself. A game by itself isn't much without a console, and most likely those who do have a console already have enough games to last them. Having a sale, and/or a discount on PS+ would probably be a better idea imo if you still wanted something like it, but like @Eldritch suggested, providing money towards a cure, and/or providing extra supplies for the equipment-starved health services would probably be best at this stage.

@Heavyarms55 - Potentially, yeah. Again, this expanded Midgar part is being shipped on two PS4 discs. Even if the expanded material brings the midgar part to the equivalent of disc 1 on the original, that still leaves 2 discs to do, meaning you'd probably need another 2-4 discs to get everything. And once you get to four discs, you really get to the point where you are gonna have trouble justifying the development costs if you're trying to go for a single release, especially these days. So yeah, what they said is likely accurate, and is why they're expanding the game, to try and justify the multiple releases.
"Even if that's actually needed - I just don't accept that that justifies 120 or 180 dollars"
Leaving out that this is a separate argument entirely (arguing the devs didn't need multiple releases vs arguing multiple releases are unjustifiable from a consumer stand-point) I don't see how, if you accept the premise that the game needed multiple games worth of media, that pricing it on that basis is unreasonable? Especially when you take into account this isn't just a straight remake, but a vastly expanded one. I mean, is it any worse than spreading a story out over a trilogy? Or a TV show spreading its story out over multiple seasons?

Yeah, using multiple discs was a common practice during the PS1 era; but have you also noticed that that's not the case anymore? Most games from the PS2 onward ship on only one disc, with the Xbox 360 sometimes needing two due to it using DVD's rather than Blu-Rays like the PS3, so releasing a game on four discs is most likely no longer a reasonable proposition, which is why it's being split up into multiple releases.

@Heavyarms55 - Is it really that hard to believe? I mean, this expanded Midgar segment alone is being shipped on two PS4 discs, imagine if they had to cram the entire game on there? Even without the expanded content, you'd probably need at least 4 discs just to hold it all, not to mention a lot more time and money to get it all done, all for a single release. At that point, the project will likely be too costly to justifiable financially, leaving the only real options being to, as they said, either cut some of the less important content and try to cram everything on a single two-disc release, or split the game across multiple releases.

@get2sammyb - Was it though? We were promised info on the PS5, and that's exactly what we got; now we know a lot more on exactly what the PS5 hardware will be like, with a more software-focused presentation likely to follow it in a few months (around the time E3 would've happened).
Honestly, most of the 'problems' some people seem to have with this video (claiming the backwards compatibility statements were 'confusing' when they really weren't, expecting an E3-level presentation months prior to the event even though that kind of thing was likely always planned for said event, complaining about the lack of 'hardware superiority' to the Xbox based purely on teraflops, while ignoring the other technical features the console has, etc.) seem more to do with their expectations for the event than Sony actually dropping the ball here and I think that's reflected in both the number of views it got, and the ratio of likes-to-dislikes (admittedly, the number of dislikes is a fair bit higher than expected, but it's still substantially outweighed by the number of likes). Could it have been better? Sure, but that's what the E3/June presentation is for; this was never meant to be anything other than an early look at the specs for the PS5, and when viewed from that perspective, I can't see how what we got was that much of a disappointment.

Still don't get why it's getting GOTY awards. Like, I get it, it was a great meme, and I personally loved the joke ever since it was announced, but GOTY implies it was some work of art, and no matter how you slice it, it just isn't.

"Interestingly, Resident Evil Zero is nowhere to be seen."

Except for the part in the video (0:19) where the logo is very clearly displayed on the screen, with a further 20 seconds (0:40 - 1:02) where the initial premise is briefly covered... Though that said, they probably could've cut 0 entirely and it wouldn't have done much to effect the recap, as most of the info presented in that segment was also presented at the beginning of 1.

In any case, while Resi 3 will not be my first experience with the series(that goes to Resi 1 Remake, followed by 4) it will be for the game itself, as like 2, 0 and CV, I never got round to playing it prior, so I'm interested in seeing what it's like, even if it's in the form of a remake.

@RenanKJ - Yeah, I remember there were rumours going around at the time that Capcom could go bust and all their IP's would go up for sale (I remember wishing Nintendo could pick them up, which in hindsight I'm thankful wasn't the case). At that point, it seemed Capcom couldn't do anything right, and yet now it's almost the complete opposite, with all their major franchises doing better than ever.

While I'm a bit disappointed they've cut characters, to be fair from what I can tell it seems only 7 are going to be absent, and it's likely at least some will be re-added via free or paid DLC (Perona for example, will probably return given how popular she is) so it's probably not too much of a loss.

That said, I'm looking forward to finally getting to play as Eustass Kid; been waiting ages for him to be included, so I'm glad he finally made the cut this time round (shame the gameplay of him in the trailer is so brief though).

@Matroska - I'm usually pretty good with character names, but I don't recognise Tatsuki at all; is she a new character?

@WallyWest - To be fair, most are probably from the larger From community, with maybe a few George R.R. Martin/Game of Thrones fans thrown in for good measure. And considering you had a fair few speculating over the even more vague and info-deprived Sekiro teaser (before that title was even announced), I can't say I'm surprised a community has been created out of the Elden Ring trailer.
Also, they probably thought there'd be more info by now...

Like @b1ackjack said, I'd be interested if it were an original story, maybe exploring the time gap between the prologue and main story of the first game, or better yet, the gap between the first and second games, but if it's just an adaptation of the first game, then I gotta ask: What's the draw for those who've already played and finished it?

That's a sweet looking collection; unfortunately, I already have the majority of the games in it, so even if it were real, I probably wouldn't be able to justify double-dipping, especially as it'd probably be pretty pricey.

Another case of "Good deal for those who don't have it" with Shadow of the Colossus, though it tends to go pretty cheap when on sale, so the saving may not be that great (assuming this is true). Sonic Forces not so much, but I guess that's usually how it goes.

"they were obviously stuck on a handheld" As opposed to NT, which is stuck on a console
But seriously, the main reason I never picked this game up, despite having sunk 300+ combined hours into Dissidia and 012, was because it was only on the PS4. Admittedly, if it had a decent single-player component on par with those earlier titles, I might've bitten the bullet and gotten it anyway, but even then, I still would've much preferred to play this game on a handheld than a console, if given the choice.

@FullbringIchigo - Agreed, if DBZF is anything to go by, either (or both) of your suggestions would imo be a better choice than a Final Fantasy Fighterz.

@get2sammyb - "This game made a massive footprint on the industry"
That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? Unless I missed something, the game's only achievement was being the biggest meme of 2019, and unlike say Fortnite, is unlikely to be remembered once the fad dies down in a year or two. And to be fair, there's nothing wrong with that, but at the end of the day, being a particularly popular fad isn't the same as having an impact on the industry/medium. For a good comparison, compare this game to PubG; admittedly, a game I don't really care for, but one that made it's mark by popularising the Battle Royale genre. UGG, from what I understand, doesn't have anything similar, it's just a running joke that got really popular.
@Neolit - To be fair, that name choice was likely deliberate as part of the joke, and was probably the right choice to make imo.
@JoeBlogs - Pretty much.

If they can fix the villains and that one Tyrant fight, then sure, I'm all for it. Otherwise I'm probably fine without it.

I like how the majority of the review seems to be finding different ways of saying "This isn't for casual fans"; not sure why that's the case, but you could probably make a drinking game everytime the idea/phrase is brought up.
Anyways, I do agree that the asking price is a bit steep considering what we get is.....somewhat lacking. I mean, when you break it down, all we get is: 13 data fights, a photo/diorama mode, a separate secret boss fight, a difficulty customiser, a single new area that has little to do in it, and a few cutscenes and set-pieces scattered throughout a remixed ending sequence. If this were half price, or it included more substantial content, I'd probably be fine, but as it stands, it's not really value for money (unless you really like the data fights).

@GKO900 - Now sure how this is related to "KH3 made the mobile game canon" but okay.
I'm guessing you're talking about Ephemer (kid with grey hair and red scarf)? He's there for the same reason Roxas and Xion are there: in order to represent his respective game (in his case, Union X). That, and he has a connection with Chirithy (the little plushie guy who talks to Sora) and Ventus (a character who, along with a few others, has a connection to the mobile game).
On Xehanort, is it any worse than when Vader turned at the end of the original trilogy?
To be honest, it's not that hard to explain, it's just so weird that most of its stuff probably throws people for a loop (admittedly this prob applies to KH as a whole, but KH III's ending especially so). Also, is it just the ending that's the problem (ala ME3)?

@GKO900 - The mobile game was always canon though; that wasn't something KH3 did, that was done probably the minute it was launched (certainly when it was re-launched as a mobile title).

Personally, while I enjoyed KH III more then.....most seem to have (surprised to see so many 'disappointed' comments here) with the Xehanort saga over, I'll probably move on from the series now (though I'll definitely be getting the DLC when it comes out).

@BarefootBowser - Ah, okay. Well, if it helps, beating the boss isn't that different from a zelda boss: essentially, all you need is to wait for it to embed one of its wings into the ground, wack it a few times, do the same for the other wing, then force pull it to the ground and wail on it a few times. Repeat until done.
@Stocksy - Guess you were right.

@Stocksy - Dunno how much of a kick it is given it's just a few cosmetic options being given out two months after release. That said, that hasn't stopped people before, so....
@BarefootBowser - Wait, which boss was this?

Got this shortly after beating the game, so I initially thought these were rewards for finishing the story. That's obviously not the case, but still nice they threw out this little bonus for those who didn't pre-order.

"The new Style Change system allows you to experience the action through a number of unique Styles allowing for unprecedented variety. Level up the Styles and weapons as you see fit and create a playstyle all your own,"
I.....think this is simply talking about the style system used in DMC3, not a new one that is more in line with later games. I could be wrong and/or the game could feature an altered style system, but this quote by itself seems to be talking about changing styles full stop, not changing them on the fly. Basically talking about the game as if it was new rather than 15 years old.

@Shigurui - I do like it, but that's not the main reason I responded (if it were, I'd prob be also defending the deflect mechanic); I responded because I genuinely believed the points I was raising were fair. I don't know if I think the combat moveset depth is that great (especially in the early game), but it certainly isn't as barren as your comments were saying, which was the crux of my response.

@kiki3400 - It didn't get that much of a drubbing, did it? Iirc, the general consensus was that it was a 7/10 game and that it was kinda like Sleeping Dogs; a jack-of-all-trades that does a lot of stuff generally well, but doesn't really do any of those things exceptionally well.

On Topic, I must've missed the "Days Gone is a fan favourite" thing, because I always got the impression it wasn't that well received by both ; certainly not enough to have it placed at the top of a GOTY poll (especially with games like Resi Evil 2, Death Stranding, DMC V and Sekiro also in the running).

Well, guess my prediction was wrong on both counts; I thought for sure it'd be a toss-up between Death Stranding and Control, with DS winning out (though I guess I was kinda right on that count) but it seems I overestimated Control's popularity (though I'm surprised it didn't feature on the list at all, given the love it's been getting elsewhere). Still, it's nice to see Resi 2 end up as the winner; I've only recently started playing, but I can already see why it's been seen as GOTY material.

@Shigurui - Well in your prior comment, you said 'no freedom in combat whatsoever' not 'only combat against bosses/sub-bosses', so, taking your response into account, it kinda would be an exaggeration to say the combat in general offered 'no freedom whatsoever', if combat against regular enemies does in fact do so.

Even then, though, not all the bosses/sub-bosses are 'deflect, counter, rinse and repeat' affairs (which is I'm guessing what you're referring to with the QTE comment?). Sure some, like Genichiro and the Long-arm Centipedes, often end up like that (mostly because they're tests for your ability to use the deflection mechanic), but others, like the Guardian Ape, Juzo the Drunkard, and Shichimen Warriors don't rely on deflection mastery to defeat and do offer opportunities to use alternate methods/techniques to win.

@Shigurui - That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? You're given plenty of techniques and prosthetic tools to vary up your strategies and approaches, especially in regular combat. It may not be perfect in this regard (there's still only one 'main weapon' so to speak), but to say 'there's no freedom in combat whatsoever' is a bit much when there are options available.

@Shigurui - "offers zero player freedom" Compared to....what exactly?
@ShogunRok - I'm gonna say Control for #2 and Death Stranding for #1.

Sekiro ranks among my top games for the year, even in a packed year like this one. The increased movement and traversal options are an absolute blessing, the boss fights were amazing (well, except that double ape fight), and some of the locales were absolutely beautiful. Admittedly, I would've liked it if the scope of the game's setting, story, lore etc. were more expansive, but otherwise, the game is pretty good imo.

Obviously it's more of a spin-off than a spiritual sequel (unlike Bloodborne) to the Souls series, so whether it improves upon the formula is a bit tricky, but there are some things, like the deathblow mechanic, that do offer some improvements to the overall experience imo.

Quick Question: As someone who tried but failed to get into Skyrim, why is this game so highly praised even today? (outside of mods)

@Yogsoggoth - Except whenever a number moves from a 9, it essentially resets. For example, when you go from 9 to 10, you're ending the first line of numbers, and moving to the next cycle with a number to indicate the number of times you've restarted: 10 means you've restarted once, 50 means you've restarted five times, 140 means you've restarted 14 times, etc.
With this in mind, it makes no sense to have a decade start at 1 and end at 10, since 10 itself is the reset point, and the start of the new cycle. Sure, this creates a conundrum, since as you said, there is no year 0, but in that case, what's likely the case is the first 'decade' only goes from years 1-9, and then the decades continue as normal from year 10.

On topic, yeah, no argument on the impact of Fortnite, kinda crazy how much the game's blown up, but I guess PUBG kinda stoked peoples appetites for battle royale games and Fortnite just took advantage by providing the same but with the ability to play for free*.

@SuperSilverback - Ah, that would explain it; yeah, I did notice the weapon he had looked like a SOLDIER one, but I didn't consider it might be a new character (though given they're expanding the narrative I probably should've).

Game continues to look absolutely beautiful; I only hope the quality and quantity of the content (especially the writing) matches how it all looks (after all, XIII and XV both look amazing, but they still suffered in other areas).

On another note, anyone know who the Demyx-looking guy is? I recognise the other three (Sephiroth, Heidigger, President Shinra) but the fourth guy doesn't look familiar at all.

Maybe not now, but in a few years I can see it happening. Like some others have said though, I'd prefer a remake of Code Veronica first, if only because it needs it more (imo).
For those saying "omg, Resi 4 was too different to old Resi games" to be fair, if they remake it they could easily bring it more in line with the Resi 2 and 3 REmakes.
@NoCode23 - Why would it be that big a project? The original game wasn't that big, was it?

If I didn't already have access to Titanfall 2 via Origin Access this month might've been more appealing, but as that isn't the case, I'm probably gonna skip this month.

@Netret0120 - To be fair, KH3 had it's launch delayed because Nomura was working on XV (not to mention that there were about 5 additional titles released in-between), and XV was delayed because it had all sorts of problems throughout it's development, to the point where Nomura was kicked out and replaced with someone else, and the project rebranded from Versus XIII to XV.
While Part 1 of FFVR has suffered some setbacks, it's now on track for release, and once that's done, releasing Parts 2 and 3 should be a bit easier (and thus less likely to run into delays).

Out of curiosity, given RE7, REmake 2 and DMC V use the same engine, is there any particular reason the second and third are in completely different positions, and the first removed from the list altogether?

@kyleforrester87 - Yeah, for films it's usually best to focus on each film individually, as it can lead to films feeling like they're there more to set up later films than to stand alone as their own entity, but for TV shows, you really should have at least a general overall plan for what you intend to do with the show, otherwise you end up with seasons that fail to really justify their existence, and/or progressively dip in quality. Seven seasons may sound like a lot, but when you consider how long Game of Thrones lasted, as well as the fact that it could've easily lasted longer, it's not really that long, especially if there aren't that many eps in the season.

@Nyne11Tyme - You sure? Sure, Horizon might take a bit of creativity, but Nier and Bloodborne could surely be adequately re-done without too much trouble, given the games that came out at the time (haven't played Gravity Rush).