Souls games aren't just combat, they have awesome environments, strong level design, and most of all deep world building lore. Code Vein seems to be lacking all three. The combat, and by extension difficulty, in Souls games are not the sole factors that make them great, yet so many souls-alikes seem to miss that.
1. That narrator doesn't fit this game's style at all. Too cutsey. Very jarring. 2. The enemies so far seem very similar, but this is a limited slice. 3. I did not like that it stopped at crossroads and asked for player input to decide which way to go. The point of 3D games is that we make those decisions by just running down that side of the fork. Maybe there's something going on I can't see yet, but I would be annoyed any time it did that seemingly without reason.
Looks like it plays smooth and the graphics are nice. I don't care if it's open world or not. I would try it before I bought it at this point, but there's time for them to change my mind before launch.
Bought it on day one and really enjoyed how simple it was. I think of game value in dollars:fun, and I easily got my money's worth out of it at launch. I like replaying games, so i always expected to go back to it, and this update in particular is very exciting for me and making it a real easy choice to return.
Did they break promises at launch? Sure. But now I have to say, who cares? I think the measure of any company is how they handle things when they screw up, if given a chance to fix it. The silence after launch was the most damning thing, that's when it seemed like they were just going to take the money and run. Three major, and free, updates later, I think they've redeemed themselves. They could have just taken the money and run, but they didn't, and that makes all the difference.
I do not enjoy online mutiplayer with racing games of any kind. Local or bust. But when it comes to GT, I never wanted multiplayer anyway. It was like pokemon for cars, and I just enjoyed acquiring vehicles, messing around with them, and taking them for a ride. GT Sport sounds mega disappointing from my perspective.
Not all gamers are competitive gamers, and GT used to cater to many different kinds of gamer, but this new focus is definitely going to leave many fans of the franchise looking for alternatives.
This sounds like a generic new IP that they slapped a brilliant but niche franchise's name onto in hopes of generating some recognition and sales. Too bad they mishandled the franchise so badly, Valkyria Chronicles is still one of my favorites.
@BLP_Software Contemporaries set the basic expectations of quality. If it can't meet minimum standards trying to emulate other games of its type, criticism by comparison is justified. Also, it doesn't matter what the medium is, works in the same series will always be compared to other works in the same series, because people always connect new experiences to past ones. To isolate one entry and judge it solely on its own merits seems disingenuous. Sometimes a work is made better or worse by what came before it because an earlier entry again sets expectations for future entries, none of which are met by Valkyria Revolution. The omission of that comparison would have been glaring. Don't mistake my tone, I'm not trying to attack you, I just think those comparisons are warranted in the review and score. Bumping it up to a 5 seems like a good personal score for you if you don't care about how it compares. I also callibrate my own score all the time like that.
This looked like a trainwreck from the start. Shouldn't have slapped the Valkyria name on this. Even if it's a good game (doubtful), it's not a Valkyria game. It's the Highlander 2 to its source material.
It LOOKS like souls. Kind of. But how does it PLAY? There are three things I love about souls: great level design, fair and skill-based gameplay, and deep lore. For now, cautiously optimistic about Code Vein. I'll probably wait for reviews.
@Dodoo I too bought the Bloodborne DLC and haven't really played it. For me DLC almost always has a feeling of being tacked on. If it was critical for the game or story, it would have been there from the beginning, and if the game is broken without it, I probably didn't buy the game because it wasn't polished enough at launch. Sometimes I go back and buy those games, sometimes I don't. There are just too many good games taking up my limited gaming time for me to bother overmuch with experiences I find hollow, and that pretty much also explains why I don't play service based games.
@get2sammyb Spot on article. I feel the same way about single player games, but it's not that the games are disposable to me, it's that my time isn't. I could spend a hundred hours playing something like Overwatch, OR I could play Horizon, Persona, and Zelda. Quite frankly, I'd rather experience three amazing games than spend too much time on any one. This is also why I almost never care about 100% completion or trophies.
I guess I don't have any nostalgia for the art style. As I've said before he looks like a bad parker brothers mascot, or a cereal peddler. I normally like this type of game but something about this one just looks boring to me. Oh well, maybe I'll pick it up when it's cheap. It's going to be in a flash sale eventually.
@nhSnork They might take a page out of Switch's book with a Vita successor, but I doubt it. Seems more likely to me that they'll want to grow their VR and game streaming markets. PS Now is the future for Sony, with a moderately powerful streaming box (perhaps with VR packed in) that can be supplemented by powerful cloud computers. If they make that a portable/console hybrid, they'll have one-upped Nintendo, though Switch did have those patents for a headset dock for VR capability.
@Fandabidozi Great! Now I want to play those again, thanks for that! The dialogue in those games was a riot sometimes. What did those random ogres used to say? "You mess with him, you mess with you." Or something nonsensical like that. It's been a while.
My interest tanked when they announced the removal of turn-based originally. Turn-based and real time are apples and oranges, they're not really comparable. I like one, I don't like the other. It's a dealbreaker for me. It's a real shame, as I think that the majority of the nostalgia gamers for this particular game are likely to feel like something important is missing with the loss of the ATB. But hey, it'll still sell like crazy, so there's that for Square-Enix. Just won't sell to me.
Switch is a great 2nd console. I like a lot of Nintendo first party games. I like a lot of Sony's first party stuff. Unless they make a unified console that has both libraries (haha!) I'll forever have to own both. Does my PS4 need to be portable? Nah, but I think this hybrid approach is an awesome direction for Nintendo.
@JaxonH What do you mean the core game hasn't changed? Nothing about this matches the previous brand. The art direction is totally different. The core design is completely changed. This is a completely different game with the Valkyria name slapped on.
It's like taking Fire Emblem and making Skyrim out of it. It might still be a good game, who knows, but it sure isn't Valkyria Chronicles.
I haven't bought the game, but I have tried it out, and I can still firmly say it's not for me. There are a lot of games I want to love, but can't get into because of a real time combat system coupled with a party mechanic. When I have to rely on AI party members, I always feel like in some way the game is playing itself. For me that's like if you were able to see through your TV screen to the electronic components within while watching a movie. It's just not fun.
@mantralux I think I misunderstood what you originally meant. I thought you meant some simple sub-quests, which I don't think would add anything at all. Go here, do the thing, fetch the thing. What you really meant was what I meant by variety. I also think there should be some specialization similar to what you suggest. I can also see how bases might be used as warp points for revisting planets/systems, but I don't think it's likely we'll get anything that useful, which again makes me wonder why bases even should be a thing in this game. They go against the core design.
@mantralux I'm not sure I understand how adding these sub quests would make the game any different. You'd still be doing all the same things. The game needs more variety, but the lack of direction is one of it's strengths to my mind.
I'm looking forward to future updates. I feel like the game has a lot of potential. I don't care about base building though. I'm not entirely sure why anyone would want it in this game. Planets are too uniform for bases to matter-you can see everything you need to see with short range exploration from the ship, and flying is always faster to move long distances. That sort of game design constantly pushes you to keep moving forward, to the next planet, to the next system. What's the point of a base? It's not Minecraft, and quite frankly the expectation that it should be is a little ridiculous.
I could not afford to buy all of those games at launch, even if I was a fan. For someone like me, all of those games look like the same genre. Yes, I know they're different, but their core mechanic and marketing are all very similar.If I was a fan, I would have chosen one. Maybe. With frequent sequels always in the works, it pays to wait even 3-6 months. My point is, all these "blockbusters" are only hitting one segment of the market. I actually feel like I'm in a bit of a gaming drought right now.
Here's my problem with real time battle systems: the party. I love action oriented games. Bloodborne is one of my favorite games of all time, but you control one character.
In an RPG, as soon as there's a party, I don't want a real-time battle system because I never want to feel like the game is playing itself. That's what AI party members feel like to me. Many people complain about FFXIII, and as far as I'm concerned, that battle system was the fundamentally boiled down version of any real time battle system because ALL of the characters were AI.
I'm not saying I want them to stand there in a line. There has to be some way to make party combat more interesting visually without resorting to the game basically playing by itself. Innovate. Not every game needs to be Kingdom Hearts, and P5 proves that there's still a place for turn-based combat in today's gaming landscape. Hell, P5 proves you can bridge that gap and allow players to choose the way they'd like to play.
This is about how I like to play games, and gameplay is king. No matter how pretty FFXV looks, that battle system is a deal breaker for me, and I have a strong suspicion FFVII Remake will be no different.
@JaxonH I agree that it was sad to see such good games do so poorly, but I think the big difference there is that the Wii-U's installed user base is so small. I mean, it hasn't even reached Gamecube levels yet, that's how bad it is. Very few people are buying a Wii-U just to play #FE and Xenoblade had the same problem on the system despite how well received it was. Lost Odyssey totally released on the wrong system at the wrong time - look at the typical 360 player's library from that time period and I don't think you'll find a lot of RPGs, especially JRPGs. As for the Last Story... it hit too late in the Wii's cycle when most people who would have cared had already ditched the system.
Anyway, it's nice to see Persona 5 doing well. I can't wait to play it. Anyone know if there's word of an anime tie-in? The P4 anime was excellent and I'd be pumped to see P5 get the same treatment.
Well that sucks. I understand that split-screen is resource intensive, but online co-op is completely useless for me. I don't play games at the same times as my friends are online, and without local co-op it's just too expensive for my wife and I to play games together.
@starhops That's a good point that I hadn't thought about. I've only had a few crashes since launch, and none since the first update, but I'm playing 100% offline too. Hope they fix that faulty hyperdrive for you soon!
@sketchturner I'm someone enjoying the game immensely right now and I think your opinion is dead on when it comes to the game being niche. NMS is a wide open game with an extremely narrow focus. The marketing has been vague enough that people filled in a lot of the blanks on their own and that mostly became: This game has something for me in it. What that something was, was different for each person hyped about the game, and collectively people formed the impression that it was a game with something for everyone. At no point in any of the interviews, trailers, or marketing for this game did I ever feel like this was going to have broad appeal, but I also knew that I was part of the niche it was trying to fill, and I've been fully satisfied.
@carlos82 I've put in about the same number of hours as you and I've only had 4 crashes. There are definitely problems, but I've played worse games at launch and I agree that it seems blown way out of proportion. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with NMS, people either love it or loathe it.
I was excited for this game a decade ago. Now I could not care less. Wait mode almost gave me hope enough to purchase it, but that turned out to be a huge disappointment for me. Any game that uses AI companions automatically makes me wary, especially if they're mandatory. I hate buying a game that feels like it's playing itself, and every time I see FFXV, that's exactly what it looks like to me. Pretty, but devoid of compelling gameplay. Yawn.
I don't think Hello Games has ever said anything that would have led me to believe that this game's core engagement would be playing with friends. I do think that people who want to play with their friends have grasped at any straw to believe they could have the game they wanted NMS to be, rather than the game it actually is. And the same goes for shooting game fans looking for missions, or story game fans looking for a strong narrative.
NMS's primary aesthetic is Discovery, and I think that's been made abundantly clear from the beginning whether gamers have chosen to hear the message or not. This is not the kind of game in which there's something for everyone; NMS's focus is much more narrow than a game like, for example, Skyrim, which allows for a wide variety of aesthetics.
@kyleforrester87 I don't think I can trust the general buzz on this one. Having seen how generally misinformed people are about this game, and some of the ridiculous expectations, I don't think the buzz can get better than "Meh" and is more likely to be "Overhyped waste of time." If you're really concerned about it, maybe find a cheap rental to try it out. My local library lends video games for free, so I often try before I buy when I'm not sure. As for me, Neolit summed up how I feel about NMS perfectly, and the coming patch actually makes me less concerned overall.
Comments 502
Re: Code Vein Looks a Little Bit Naff in New Boss Gameplay
@doctommaso Me too, but more games get added to it every year.
Re: Code Vein Looks a Little Bit Naff in New Boss Gameplay
@ShogunRok Shamefully I still haven't tried Nioh, but I have heard a lot of good things. When I get to that back catalog one day...
Re: Code Vein Looks a Little Bit Naff in New Boss Gameplay
Souls games aren't just combat, they have awesome environments, strong level design, and most of all deep world building lore. Code Vein seems to be lacking all three. The combat, and by extension difficulty, in Souls games are not the sole factors that make them great, yet so many souls-alikes seem to miss that.
Re: Action RPG Code Vein Is Worth Keeping a Bloodied Eye On in New PS4 Gameplay
Cautiously optimistic.
Re: Gamescom 2017: Here's 11 Whole Minutes of Open World RPG BioMutant Gameplay
Looks intriguing, except:
1. That narrator doesn't fit this game's style at all. Too cutsey. Very jarring.
2. The enemies so far seem very similar, but this is a limited slice.
3. I did not like that it stopped at crossroads and asked for player input to decide which way to go. The point of 3D games is that we make those decisions by just running down that side of the fork. Maybe there's something going on I can't see yet, but I would be annoyed any time it did that seemingly without reason.
Looks like it plays smooth and the graphics are nice. I don't care if it's open world or not. I would try it before I bought it at this point, but there's time for them to change my mind before launch.
Re: Gamescom 2017: Goodness Gracious! Gran Turismo Sport Looks Stunning at Night
Stop toying with me Gran Turismo!
Re: Poll: 1 Year Later, What Are Your Thoughts on No Man's Sky?
Bought it on day one and really enjoyed how simple it was. I think of game value in dollars:fun, and I easily got my money's worth out of it at launch. I like replaying games, so i always expected to go back to it, and this update in particular is very exciting for me and making it a real easy choice to return.
Did they break promises at launch? Sure. But now I have to say, who cares? I think the measure of any company is how they handle things when they screw up, if given a chance to fix it. The silence after launch was the most damning thing, that's when it seemed like they were just going to take the money and run. Three major, and free, updates later, I think they've redeemed themselves. They could have just taken the money and run, but they didn't, and that makes all the difference.
Re: Weirdness: There's an Uncharted Monopoly Board Now
Still Monopoly. Still terrible.
Re: Gran Turismo Sport Will Apparently Not Have Microtransactions
@Hapuc I'm so confused at this point. I'm going to need an extensive review to even understand what the game is and is not at this point.
Re: Gran Turismo Sport May Be in for a Tough Ride
I do not enjoy online mutiplayer with racing games of any kind. Local or bust. But when it comes to GT, I never wanted multiplayer anyway. It was like pokemon for cars, and I just enjoyed acquiring vehicles, messing around with them, and taking them for a ride. GT Sport sounds mega disappointing from my perspective.
Not all gamers are competitive gamers, and GT used to cater to many different kinds of gamer, but this new focus is definitely going to leave many fans of the franchise looking for alternatives.
Re: Persona 5 Has Stolen the Hearts of Around 1.8 Million People
Stole my heart for sure. Love that game.
Re: What Even Is Sonic Forces At This Point?
@Arminillo On the other hand, Sonic kind of deserves it.
Re: Review: Valkyria Revolution (PS4)
This sounds like a generic new IP that they slapped a brilliant but niche franchise's name onto in hopes of generating some recognition and sales. Too bad they mishandled the franchise so badly, Valkyria Chronicles is still one of my favorites.
Re: Review: Valkyria Revolution (PS4)
@BLP_Software Contemporaries set the basic expectations of quality. If it can't meet minimum standards trying to emulate other games of its type, criticism by comparison is justified. Also, it doesn't matter what the medium is, works in the same series will always be compared to other works in the same series, because people always connect new experiences to past ones. To isolate one entry and judge it solely on its own merits seems disingenuous. Sometimes a work is made better or worse by what came before it because an earlier entry again sets expectations for future entries, none of which are met by Valkyria Revolution. The omission of that comparison would have been glaring. Don't mistake my tone, I'm not trying to attack you, I just think those comparisons are warranted in the review and score. Bumping it up to a 5 seems like a good personal score for you if you don't care about how it compares. I also callibrate my own score all the time like that.
Re: Round Up: Valkyria Revolution Isn't the PS4 Chronicle This Series Deserves
This looked like a trainwreck from the start. Shouldn't have slapped the Valkyria name on this. Even if it's a good game (doubtful), it's not a Valkyria game. It's the Highlander 2 to its source material.
Re: Round Up: Every Announcement and Trailer from Ubisoft's E3 2017 Press Conference
Intrigued by Starlink, disappointed by Skull and Bones, excited to be excited about Assassin's Creed again. That about sums it up for me.
Re: Report: Konami Still Freakin' Hates Hideo Kojima
Konami is pretty much a zombie of a company at this point.
Re: E3 2017: Anime Souls Code Vein Confirmed for 2018 Launch on PS4
It LOOKS like souls. Kind of. But how does it PLAY? There are three things I love about souls: great level design, fair and skill-based gameplay, and deep lore. For now, cautiously optimistic about Code Vein. I'll probably wait for reviews.
Re: E3 2017: Anime Souls Code Vein Confirmed for 2018 Launch on PS4
@BAMozzy I'm a huge souls fan and comparisons also put me off.
Re: E3 2017: Gran Turismo Sport Will Be Dated Tomorrow
...before inevitably being delayed. GT is one of those franchises I don't quite believe is ever going to release, even when the disc is in my system.
Re: Rumour: Assassin's Creed Egypt Gets Its First Off-Screen Gameplay Snap
Huh, so that's what it feels like to be excited for an AC game again. Weird.
Re: Opinion: Why Sony Is Zagging While the Industry Zigs
@Dodoo I too bought the Bloodborne DLC and haven't really played it. For me DLC almost always has a feeling of being tacked on. If it was critical for the game or story, it would have been there from the beginning, and if the game is broken without it, I probably didn't buy the game because it wasn't polished enough at launch. Sometimes I go back and buy those games, sometimes I don't. There are just too many good games taking up my limited gaming time for me to bother overmuch with experiences I find hollow, and that pretty much also explains why I don't play service based games.
@get2sammyb Spot on article. I feel the same way about single player games, but it's not that the games are disposable to me, it's that my time isn't. I could spend a hundred hours playing something like Overwatch, OR I could play Horizon, Persona, and Zelda. Quite frankly, I'd rather experience three amazing games than spend too much time on any one. This is also why I almost never care about 100% completion or trophies.
Re: From Software Seemingly Recruiting for Dark Fantasy Action RPG
BB2 or something new, doesn't matter to me. I'm buying what From's selling if it's anything like Souls or BB.
Re: Review: Snake Pass (PS4)
I guess I don't have any nostalgia for the art style. As I've said before he looks like a bad parker brothers mascot, or a cereal peddler. I normally like this type of game but something about this one just looks boring to me. Oh well, maybe I'll pick it up when it's cheap. It's going to be in a flash sale eventually.
Re: Is Sony Prepping a Slimmer PS4 for Release This Year?
@nhSnork They might take a page out of Switch's book with a Vita successor, but I doubt it. Seems more likely to me that they'll want to grow their VR and game streaming markets. PS Now is the future for Sony, with a moderately powerful streaming box (perhaps with VR packed in) that can be supplemented by powerful cloud computers. If they make that a portable/console hybrid, they'll have one-upped Nintendo, though Switch did have those patents for a headset dock for VR capability.
Re: Hands On: Is Mass Effect: Andromeda Really That Bad?
@Fandabidozi Great! Now I want to play those again, thanks for that! The dialogue in those games was a riot sometimes. What did those random ogres used to say? "You mess with him, you mess with you." Or something nonsensical like that. It's been a while.
Re: You Can Switch Between Characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Yawn. Square is a victim of their own success.
Re: No, Final Fantasy VII Remake's Battles Aren't Turn Based
My interest tanked when they announced the removal of turn-based originally. Turn-based and real time are apples and oranges, they're not really comparable. I like one, I don't like the other. It's a dealbreaker for me. It's a real shame, as I think that the majority of the nostalgia gamers for this particular game are likely to feel like something important is missing with the loss of the ATB. But hey, it'll still sell like crazy, so there's that for Square-Enix. Just won't sell to me.
Re: Poll: Will Your PS4 Gather Dust Now the Nintendo Switch Is Out?
Switch is a great 2nd console. I like a lot of Nintendo first party games. I like a lot of Sony's first party stuff. Unless they make a unified console that has both libraries (haha!) I'll forever have to own both. Does my PS4 need to be portable? Nah, but I think this hybrid approach is an awesome direction for Nintendo.
Re: Japanese Sales Charts: Gravity Rush Goes Top as Valkyria Revolution Flops
Valkyria Revolution is a completely different brand with the Valkyria name slapped on it. It doesn't sit well with me either.
Re: Hyped Japanese RPG Tokyo Xanadu Heads West on PS4, Vita This Year
Never heard of this one. Can anyone give me an idea what it's like?
Re: New Persona 5 Gameplay Trailer Delves Into Dungeons
P5 is tied for most anticipated game of the year for me.
Re: Poll: Who Is the Best Final Fantasy Protagonist?
@ShogunRok I'm surprised too, but I like the single selection poll.
Re: Poll: Who Is the Best Final Fantasy Protagonist?
I'm surprised at the number for Lightning given how few people seemed to like 13, and Lightning in particular.
Re: Valkyria Revolution Invades the West on PS4, Vita Next Year
@JaxonH What do you mean the core game hasn't changed? Nothing about this matches the previous brand. The art direction is totally different. The core design is completely changed. This is a completely different game with the Valkyria name slapped on.
It's like taking Fire Emblem and making Skyrim out of it. It might still be a good game, who knows, but it sure isn't Valkyria Chronicles.
Re: Valkyria Revolution Invades the West on PS4, Vita Next Year
Valkyria Chronicles is one of my favorite games of all time.
This imposter has stolen only the name.
Re: Feature: What Do Longtime Final Fantasy Fans Think of Final Fantasy XV?
I haven't bought the game, but I have tried it out, and I can still firmly say it's not for me. There are a lot of games I want to love, but can't get into because of a real time combat system coupled with a party mechanic. When I have to rely on AI party members, I always feel like in some way the game is playing itself. For me that's like if you were able to see through your TV screen to the electronic components within while watching a movie. It's just not fun.
Re: Wow! No Man's Sky Is Getting a Whole Lot Cooler
Wow. That is significantly better than I expected. Looking forward to what future updates hold.
Re: Hello Games Breaks No Man's Sky Silence with Foundation Update
@mantralux I think I misunderstood what you originally meant. I thought you meant some simple sub-quests, which I don't think would add anything at all. Go here, do the thing, fetch the thing. What you really meant was what I meant by variety. I also think there should be some specialization similar to what you suggest. I can also see how bases might be used as warp points for revisting planets/systems, but I don't think it's likely we'll get anything that useful, which again makes me wonder why bases even should be a thing in this game. They go against the core design.
Re: Hello Games Breaks No Man's Sky Silence with Foundation Update
@mantralux I'm not sure I understand how adding these sub quests would make the game any different. You'd still be doing all the same things. The game needs more variety, but the lack of direction is one of it's strengths to my mind.
Re: Hello Games Breaks No Man's Sky Silence with Foundation Update
I'm looking forward to future updates. I feel like the game has a lot of potential. I don't care about base building though. I'm not entirely sure why anyone would want it in this game. Planets are too uniform for bases to matter-you can see everything you need to see with short range exploration from the ship, and flying is always faster to move long distances. That sort of game design constantly pushes you to keep moving forward, to the next planet, to the next system. What's the point of a base? It's not Minecraft, and quite frankly the expectation that it should be is a little ridiculous.
Re: Talking Point: Why Are Fall's Biggest Blockbusters Flopping?
I could not afford to buy all of those games at launch, even if I was a fan. For someone like me, all of those games look like the same genre. Yes, I know they're different, but their core mechanic and marketing are all very similar.If I was a fan, I would have chosen one. Maybe. With frequent sequels always in the works, it pays to wait even 3-6 months. My point is, all these "blockbusters" are only hitting one segment of the market. I actually feel like I'm in a bit of a gaming drought right now.
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Battle System Will Be Detailed Next Time the Game's Shown
Here's my problem with real time battle systems: the party. I love action oriented games. Bloodborne is one of my favorite games of all time, but you control one character.
In an RPG, as soon as there's a party, I don't want a real-time battle system because I never want to feel like the game is playing itself. That's what AI party members feel like to me. Many people complain about FFXIII, and as far as I'm concerned, that battle system was the fundamentally boiled down version of any real time battle system because ALL of the characters were AI.
I'm not saying I want them to stand there in a line. There has to be some way to make party combat more interesting visually without resorting to the game basically playing by itself. Innovate. Not every game needs to be Kingdom Hearts, and P5 proves that there's still a place for turn-based combat in today's gaming landscape. Hell, P5 proves you can bridge that gap and allow players to choose the way they'd like to play.
This is about how I like to play games, and gameplay is king. No matter how pretty FFXV looks, that battle system is a deal breaker for me, and I have a strong suspicion FFVII Remake will be no different.
Re: Persona 5 Is Three Weeks Old and It's Already Atlus' Best Selling Game Ever in Japan
@JaxonH I agree that it was sad to see such good games do so poorly, but I think the big difference there is that the Wii-U's installed user base is so small. I mean, it hasn't even reached Gamecube levels yet, that's how bad it is. Very few people are buying a Wii-U just to play #FE and Xenoblade had the same problem on the system despite how well received it was. Lost Odyssey totally released on the wrong system at the wrong time - look at the typical 360 player's library from that time period and I don't think you'll find a lot of RPGs, especially JRPGs. As for the Last Story... it hit too late in the Wii's cycle when most people who would have cared had already ditched the system.
Anyway, it's nice to see Persona 5 doing well. I can't wait to play it. Anyone know if there's word of an anime tie-in? The P4 anime was excellent and I'd be pumped to see P5 get the same treatment.
Re: For Honor Spilt-Screen Co-Op Cut Completely, Not Just From Online Play
Well that sucks. I understand that split-screen is resource intensive, but online co-op is completely useless for me. I don't play games at the same times as my friends are online, and without local co-op it's just too expensive for my wife and I to play games together.
Re: No Man's Sky PS4 Crashes Will Almost Be Eradicated with This Week's Patch
@starhops That's a good point that I hadn't thought about. I've only had a few crashes since launch, and none since the first update, but I'm playing 100% offline too. Hope they fix that faulty hyperdrive for you soon!
Re: Gamers Demanding a No Man's Sky Refund Aren't Happy with Sony
@sketchturner I'm someone enjoying the game immensely right now and I think your opinion is dead on when it comes to the game being niche. NMS is a wide open game with an extremely narrow focus. The marketing has been vague enough that people filled in a lot of the blanks on their own and that mostly became: This game has something for me in it. What that something was, was different for each person hyped about the game, and collectively people formed the impression that it was a game with something for everyone. At no point in any of the interviews, trailers, or marketing for this game did I ever feel like this was going to have broad appeal, but I also knew that I was part of the niche it was trying to fill, and I've been fully satisfied.
@carlos82 I've put in about the same number of hours as you and I've only had 4 crashes. There are definitely problems, but I've played worse games at launch and I agree that it seems blown way out of proportion. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground with NMS, people either love it or loathe it.
Re: Get Over the Final Fantasy XV Delay with 50 Whole Minutes of Gameplay
I was excited for this game a decade ago. Now I could not care less. Wait mode almost gave me hope enough to purchase it, but that turned out to be a huge disappointment for me. Any game that uses AI companions automatically makes me wary, especially if they're mandatory. I hate buying a game that feels like it's playing itself, and every time I see FFXV, that's exactly what it looks like to me. Pretty, but devoid of compelling gameplay. Yawn.
Re: No Man's Sky PS4 Servers Too Busy for Multiplayer Features
I don't think Hello Games has ever said anything that would have led me to believe that this game's core engagement would be playing with friends. I do think that people who want to play with their friends have grasped at any straw to believe they could have the game they wanted NMS to be, rather than the game it actually is. And the same goes for shooting game fans looking for missions, or story game fans looking for a strong narrative.
The problem has to do with the aesthetics of fun, and the expectations that fun-seekers are bringing into this game: https://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
NMS's primary aesthetic is Discovery, and I think that's been made abundantly clear from the beginning whether gamers have chosen to hear the message or not. This is not the kind of game in which there's something for everyone; NMS's focus is much more narrow than a game like, for example, Skyrim, which allows for a wide variety of aesthetics.
Re: No Man's Sky PS4 Reviews Reportedly On Hold as Dev Finalises Day One Patch
@kyleforrester87 I don't think I can trust the general buzz on this one. Having seen how generally misinformed people are about this game, and some of the ridiculous expectations, I don't think the buzz can get better than "Meh" and is more likely to be "Overhyped waste of time." If you're really concerned about it, maybe find a cheap rental to try it out. My local library lends video games for free, so I often try before I buy when I'm not sure. As for me, Neolit summed up how I feel about NMS perfectly, and the coming patch actually makes me less concerned overall.