InsaneWade

I have mixed feelings with Abby overall. I didn't bat an eye to her appearance unlike a number of insecure heads on the web. I didn't mind her motivation, she lost her dad because of some random dude who not only killed some of the best surgeons around that could've cured the pandemic but essentially sealed the world's suffering for as long as Ellie shall live. Then lost her friends along the way from Ellie's act of vengeance. But her overall character is a very selfish person with a lack of compassion until she happened to be saved by two characters, one who I can see they tried to parallel Joel/Ellie's relationship in LOU1 but less toxic. Joel was an a-**** to Ellie even after she saved him until he 'apologized' by finally letting her cover him with the sniper. Regardless, Abby is a hard person to like outside the sympathy that she lost loved ones. I can see people had fun with letting her fail in the sneak duel against Ellie. Despite disliking Abby's personality, she is a lot of fun to play as.

That said, I can see why the story pacing is a problem for many. It dragged on for quite some time as they were playing out how Abby arrived to Ellie/Jesse's position. It was thrilling playing as her taking out enemies, and the survival horror moments on the boat and hospital. But as it dragged on and on with more intense moments, it was overstimulating to where I needed a break. Just another section with Ellie/Joel or someone else would've eased the tension and all, since usually when writing out a lead-up to a certain scenario it doesn't take that long normally to see the end result.

Aside from that, the gameplay was addicting that I purposely screwed up on encounters just to replay them to see the AI's new tactics. TLOU1 won narratively but TLOU2 was more of a thrilling ride.

@KundaliniRising333 For my game I have Film Grain Off. Chromatic Aberration Off. Motion Blur Off. You could also try being experimental with the HDR settings based on your tv/monitor setup.. But overall it looks better with HDR off completely along with turning off those 3 options in Graphics mode than the default look.

@KundaliniRising333 I'm guessing you played it on HDR settings? Because that is the worst way to view it, there's a specific setting on console that makes it look better. Sounds like a bad luck of the draw with the other issues since the only thing I've seen is some pop-up and npcs sitting on each other. Nothing else out of the ordinary about 10 hours in with the PS5 version for me.

@Cikajovazmaj @sword_9mm The 50Hz PAL version came with multiple languages and certain games even had their alternate voice acting (Ape Escape is first to come to mind).

They did attempt with a patch to up the frames of 50hz to 60hz for PAL regions on some games but that came with technical issues. So if all the other games offer the NTSC option, that'll be nice for them. But for us we wouldn't be able to tolerate the slower frames from our own memories of the original game.

I couldn't last five seconds without feeling vertigo. Cute idea, but not so cute executed.

That's a cute list.. now I wonder when are we getting Dino Crisis and Broken Destiny? I still have the Italian blog post fresh in my mind.

Quite a generous task, when they could've left it as is like in 7. The first person perspective was one of the reasons I held off on Village and 7. Just a preference of mine, I prefer to game in third person perspective to see all the environment and characters. I can finally enjoy this one.

Even though I played Among Thieves before this one (didn't get a PS3 until 2009) this game was a thrill. Very challenging and the six-axis controls already aged by then. Still though, the story is gripping and it really is a time capsule of gaming in the mid-late 00's.

@Shepherd_Tallon Worst case scenario, it'd play out like the Xbox 360 situation with HD-DVD drive being optional. It'll be optional, see how sales go and typically the consumer may not even know it's attachable or not bother and boom, digital consoles are the way to go now.

Best case, the newer drives run better and if there is a situation with the disc drive going bad on the PS5, it can be replaced easily. Thankfully, it's detachable so it essentially prepares itself for the inevitable switch to all-digital.

@riceNpea Probably another factor is Nintendo and Xbox both have the same franchises each generation of release. Nintendo always has a Mario, Zelda, Metroid (kinda), along with Fire Emblem & Pokemon that keeps their large fanbase and loyalty so the console generations where they "failed" at was due to the lack of third party support. Never see anyone complain about the Switch holding back the gaming industry compared to PS4/Xbox One/ Series S ports.

Xbox has Forza, Halo, and Gears of War and since they coincide with PC gaming, they'll have a more positive reception on their decisions.

Sony meanwhile develops new franchises each generation, which is a pro/con, since franchises like Spyro, Crash, Metal Gear, and Tomb Raider still have strong ties to PlayStation overall despite also being multi-platform (and now we can say goodbye to Spyro/Crash). But then the first-party franchises are often left behind in the previous generation (Uncharted, Jax and Daxter, The Order, Days Gone, etc.) when the demand for another game is high. But it's been fine since their first party games have majority of the time been of high quality.

Now it's more of a game on who has the most money to spend between Xbox/Sony since Sony won't be able to have as strong of third party support with CoD to disappear in time. Their recent buys/developments of studios are to future-proof their place incase live services become huge.

Neat. I enjoyed Street Fighter as a kid but couldn't get back into it compared to Tekken's and Soul Cal's easier accessibility over the years.

@Would_you_kindly It was mentioned in the previous articles and the official blog their plans. But this is proof that they have to repeat the original facts instead of just presenting additional information.

Too bad I already have 3 controllers..... ends up pre-ordering it

Quite the step up from CHAOS, I'm looking forward to this one.

I'm a grown man in his thirties and I find these icons quite charming and adorable. Thankfully this is a free service and is not being forced down the consumer's throat if they don't want to participate. It's almost like the original plan when the Trophy system was first implemented they had a promise for the rewards to be displayed in PlayStation Home for friends to see.

Hot, that's all I can say.

Tekken 8, Hogwarts Legacy, Rise of the Ronin, God of War Ragnarok.. where's the bad? Quite a showcase for a state of play.

@Blaze215 it'll be like FFXI and PS3's Warhawk, sitting pretty in dust on the shelf.

@4kgk2 and they previously wonder why minority characters don't just get their own fictional story instead of being "forced" into a franchise. Can't win either way it seems unless.. they don't ever exist. fake gasp

It's fine though, it helps with exposing their hidden thoughts.

Neat, I'll have a good listen at work today.

@MattBoothDev Not to mention the voice actor for the original Japanese version remained on board even for it's 'plot twist'. Such a shame since David's a huge fan of the series and still hasn't played MGSV to this day over it.

@RainbowGazelle Yep, legally here an M-rated game can not be sold to anyone who is under 17 and the customer needs to produce a license with their age as proof to purchase. Back then I would usually use my school id when I was in 11th or 12th grade and they took it just fine. If they're not 17, they can't sell it, but if they have a parent or someone old enough right there then it's okay. That's the strictest it'll get since you'll never see someone card a kid for wanting a T-rated game (13+) unless they're just being rude.

The rating system is not perfect and it was way more rampant in the media in the 90's/00's. AO was more to satisfy parents who didn't want their kids to be exposed or have the potential to have their hands on explicit content without their knowledge. So AO is banned from stores and I only ever heard about the AO rating in gaming manuals where they detail the ratings. It's funny though, Night Trap was one of the games that served as fuel to create the ESRB. It was rated as M because of teen girls potentially being murdered. The media portrayed it as if the player was committing the acts of murder on them when the most you can do in reality is just watch them die offscreen from failure. On its recent re-release 2 decades later it got a T rating for 13 and up.

@Flaming_Kaiser It's not just about the player seeing a nude body that's a problem, since anyone even kids can still see nudity in M rated games if their parents buy it for them. AO rated game is more like if that's the main prerogative of the game is for the player to simulate acts of sex via interaction like it's porn or commit extreme sets of gore and violence consistently and how realistic it plays out. The gore/violence is where the slippery slope happens here the most on AO/M games but even then only a handful of games ever crossed the AO rating.

@RainbowGazelle @Fyz306903 What's the confusion? AO is for porn and even more extreme sets of gore. Stuff that is illegal for a kid to witness or be exposed to at the very least and reserved for Adult Sex Shops.

M means we see stuff that's reserved for PEGI18 even earlier at 17 (or younger with adult permission). It's pretty much like an R-rated movie here. A game being rated AO means dead on arrival in sales because of restricted access. Yeah, admittedly we're backwards in finding gore & violence more accepting to see than nudity.

Didn't realize Europe and other regions never experienced this game. This was a difficult, but very good-looking game.

@BoldAndBrash She was working on a Star Wars game with EA shortly after Uncharted before that was cancelled. Currently, she is part of the team of writers for Forspoken.

Gotta love that Haptic Feedback

@Juanalf There was Legend of Dragoon but that's the only recognizable one that still demands a remake today. 🤷 Currently, their games just have some elements of JRPG now (Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War).

@Sakisa I personally see more negative views on Sony here despite this being a PlayStation-centric news site. Notice how critical comments get more hearts? lol.

All I can really add is that the consensus with those views you provided is that it'd be better accepted if Microsoft used their funds to build new or revive dormant franchises that originally drew gamers into their ecosystem (like Halo, Gears of War) rather than buy off franchises that built an enormous fanbase on the opposing platform for good.

Square Enix / Sony essentially have that tight bond with FF7 and FF10 bringing a mutual massive success. Making it to where JRPGs definitive home is either PlayStation or Nintendo compared to Xbox. Timed exclusives suck, as much as it "makes sense" for Square Enix to be locked on PlayStation because of that built foundation between the two. This was also why Rise of the TR's timed exclusive on Xbox was more controversial since Tomb Raider's major success outside the PC was PlayStation.

The JRPG fans on Xbox should be more upset with Microsoft for not feeding them more JRPGs rather than Sony. Despite 10+ years of Square Enix delivering on Xbox they haven't matched the same success in sales as you agreed.

Anyway, as for this CoD deal. I'm more of a Killzone fan but am not surprised to see this being a huge deal since CoD mutually sells well overall and historically marked the "definitive" console seller.

@Sakisa Don't be rude, dude. They gave a response saying based on history and a source to prove that JRPGs overall haven't faired as successful on Xbox as much as on PlayStation and Nintendo. Xbox gamers overall from the very beginning are more interested in FPS and Sci-Fi genre.

Not to say Microsoft never tried, or there isn't a JRPG fanbase on Xbox. Looking at all the wonderful JRPGs on the Xbox 360. Lost Odyssey for a example despite selling decent and reviewing well, there's no interest in Microsoft to revive that franchise since it won't rank in the same big sales as Gears of War or Halo. They really should though, since it was by the FF creator and could easily fill in the void.

FFXV sold "poorly" on Xbox compared to PlayStation, despite having a whole gen of JRPG fanbase built up in the 360 era and the money Microsoft invested for exclusive JRPGs. Gamepass if anything is the saving grace for JRPGs to be on Xbox again since it's versatile and accessible on multiple platforms.

Otherwise, it shouldn't be surprising since if FFXV sold less than a quarter overall on Xbox, Square Enix has no objections to only earning near 80% + PC sales to compensate the lack of an Xbox port when PlayStation and Nintendo have a longer successful history. It does suck for Xbox gamers who got interested JRPGs via Xbox, though.

@AdamNovice Yep, very transparent and is not ashamed to speak on Sony's questionable decisions while maintaining a chill and positive vibe without coming across fake or toxic. We need more like him.

I'm glad this feature was added, was tedious to be revealing them individually everytime I wanted to check the next hidden trophy.

You would think the rise in 'cheap' subscription services that threaten the payload on developers and game companies that there'd be more sympathy to those not wanting to work overtime and not be punished for it. Those wanting to just work the standard are obviously going to be one of the first to be replaced in due time. Relaxing is now a punishment instead of a luxury.

The value of gaming is being exchanged for the value of blame gaming.

It's quite astounding the turnaround Activision/Blizzard had. They were sinking from an internal fallout from management until Microsoft saved them with the cash. Now due to being under the umbrella of a company that is no angel and has more recent examples of poor division management. The climate of the gaming industry seems to be on the tip with the results of this outcome.

@Get-Real "sony doesn't embrace backwards compatibility fully and makes gamers pay for games they already own"

So you never had a PlayStation then. Got it.

I wonder if this is a rule, since practically every Sony game has these kind of GIFs. I approve.

The amount of the care and detail with crafting this showcases how loved the man is. Rest in power.

I can remember the common rooms on PlayStation Home's Harry Potter world feeling quite immersive but this takes it to another level.

Was hoping to see Dino Crisis this month from the Italian blog's "error" but hey, I'll take this.

"I have nothing against this" but proceeds to list reasons to be against it.

Some sense would be appreciated for once in the comments.

@OrtadragoonX It's intriguing how similar this gen is shaping to be with 7th gen. It wasn't until 2010-11 that PS3 outsold the 360, but by that point 4 years in, the Xbox was seen as the "default" in the US and overtook it in marketing and promotion despite being in 3rd place (think they even stopped reporting sales and instead reported "shipped consoles").

Here, like 7th gen Xbox is winning in PR and you look online, Xbox gets praise, non-surprisingly when PC & Xbox fanbase gel together. But the demand for PS5 is very high, since everyone who has a PS4 wants a PS5, just like how every PS2 owner wanted PS3 until the price and bad PR drove many away, or because 360 had a year headstart, anyone who wanted to jump next-gen "settled" with a 360. Now it's just bad PR after bad PR with Sony with sprinkles of "good news".

As for the price, I believe Sony did wait as long as possible until Xbox finally revealed their price. However, I think Sony lowered the price of the Digital only version after seeing Microsoft's as a one-up. Hence why there's more physical editions being developed and sold over digital edition PS5s. My guess is the price raise is to match Microsoft paying for first dibs on the chips shortage going on. PS5 already is at a profit, so this would help offset. Whether this is a temporary moment or will be the new standard until the usual price drops of consoles occur is another matter.

An ode to the loyal fans of the franchise. Harry Potter did manage to slip into the top 10 best selling PS1 games 1 year after PS2 launch.

I wonder how many punches will Sony take before Jimbo finally gets the boot or a luxurious exit?

Sounds like they're trying to ride the wave of the Sonic movies success

12/15, had some very lucky guesses along the way.

Well, they can't say Sony prevents games from going to Game Pass now.

It's tricky, wasn't the store criticized for not showcasing all newly developed games from Indies on New Releases in the past? Or putting priority to those Indies who shell out more money for exposure? This seems like a consequence of letting all in the spotlight to remain unbiased.

They'll need to overhaul the games display list in the store. Have 'New Releases' back as the default view, but have sub categories within that (scroll down to see a section of those 1 minute games) or at least re-configure New Releases to prioritize games with a higher storage space (that are proven to not be bloated).

I usually watch everything subtitled, even the English shows and movies. You'd be amazed at the "hidden" dialogue and context that's overlooked due to the lower volume at times.

@nessisonett Indeed, it's not worth engaging with a selective reader.

@GreatAuk It's not my job or anyone else's for that matter to educate you on why others see her as black. Re-read my comment until you see the glaring point that you missed. You're the only one between us who's making a bigger deal out of this.

@nessisonett you walked into @GreatAuk's trap. It's amazing how these type of questions and lectures only come up when the main character fits outside the typical designs.

@GreatAuk Maybe ask yourself why a black character can only be confirmed if mentioned or implied in a game dialogue. Or how a multiracial character that leans more to one race design wise has to not identify as that and deny that part of identity and stay as "multirace" or as you claimed it "unrealistic".

Oh, because it's a video game character and neither of these topics supposedly fit into the gaming world. Got it. Let others for once be able to see themselves in a character and let live.

@IonMagi I see why most choose not to throw you a bone. Re-read my comment. Never said they own the IP. You included Insomniac games under your projected "cheap developers w/ zero IPs" umbrella, despite their association with the listed game series and a decades-long partnership.

Insomniac to Spyro is no different than how Crash is associated to Naughty Dog despite their last game being in the 20th century. They birthed the IP and remains a household name to most gamers, something that Sony wants to keep. Developers with the creativity and history to launch successful new IPs. Pretty much why the rest of your comment is more of an insult to the developers' hard work than Sony's current decision-making as you're attempting to prove.

@Ralizah You're right about that and you know what, that reminds me, Sony does have a reputation for early rebuttal marketing that set the stage for "winning the console war". They curb-stomped Sega with the "$299" price on PS1, and then the PS2 hype overtaking Dreamcast. It's crazy to think, the PS3 was almost the last Sony console we could've had with all the setbacks and changes, yet still managed to finally outsell the 360 in 2010. This current gen is very interesting and similar to 360 era where there's now the fear again on which IPs that sold well on PlayStation will Microsoft buy off next.

..and it's only missing CHAOS.

@IonMagi "Look at what Studios they bought do far... Haven, Nixxes, BP, Insomniac...all cheap and with basically zero IPs."

I guess Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, and Spiderman never happened then.

@Ralizah PS4's early success felt like an accident. Already starting off with no backwards compatibility, the "possibility of streaming games" when physical sales were up and up, and the Vita's embarrassing reception. Xbox One tripping with their "online-always checking and no game-sharing" feature gave PS4 the red carpet to walk through.