Although a lot of people have hated Ready at Dawn's decision to go for a heavy cinematic approach, I was honestly excited to see how it would turn out (you know, with the intentional low fps, letterbox presentation, film grain, etc. I find it an interesting experiment, like what The Evil Within did). And it seems they succeeded on that front...at the cost of having mediocre level design, decent gunplay, and excessive QTEs (reminds me of Resident Evil 6 from what I've heard...the QTEs in that game were horrendous and everywhere).
I was really hoping the game wouldn't turn out like this, but oh well. :/ My fears from reading and watching previews have come true. I'll definitely still rent it though. It's worth doing that to experience it. By the way, enjoyed the review, Sammy! Wonderfully written as always.
Oh man, I adored Darksiders II. Major fan of the series. Although this Definitive Edition is kind of unnecessary, it'd be awesome to play it again on the PS4. Now, if they include a touched-up Darksiders I with it, then it'd really deserve to be called a "Definitive Edition"! Everyone that haven't played the games should buy it if that were the case.
It all depends. Due to the limited amount of time I have to play games at this point in my life, I prefer 7 to 15-hour games. But length hardly matters to me as long as the experience of any given game isn't unnecessarily stretched thin or cut short to its detriment. Journey is a 3-hour long game, but it didn't need to be longer to be such a wonderful experience. Resident Evil 4 took me a shocking 25 hours to beat, but although any kind of shooter/survival horror game that stretches that long would seem to get repetitive after a while, the game fit that length perfectly, and I couldn't believe it engaged me for as long as it did.
So yeah, Skyrim invites players to experience it for as little or long as they want with its endless content; RPGs like Final Fantasy X keep audiences interested with in-depth stories for 40-50 hours, but all of these games are equally satisfying and memorable in their own ways disregarding length. It's games like Assassin's Creed III (too long) and MGSV: Ground Zeroes (too short) that made length a big factor in the game's enjoyment because it wasn't justified in either games regarding the experiences they provided. Well, in my opinion, that is.
@ToOGoodOfAPlaya I think it's awesome Ubisoft tried new things as well, but to release it in the state it was in is -in my opinion - unacceptable. But I definitely agree with you on CoD. I thought AW did a lot to shake things up, which was commendable and really nice. But people still say it was bland and the same game as the one before it. 'sigh' that's just not fair. lol And this is coming from someone who's played nearly every title since the first one.
@Godsire- Oh man. I understand why you wouldn't want to play the Ezio trilogy...but AC2 and Brotherhood are the best in the series, and AC2 is one of my top 10 favorite games. Both of them are absolutely phenomenal. Revelations is pretty good (great story), but went astray a bit trying new things. Other than that, if you have the trilogy already, I recommend you at least play the second one. Pinnacle of the series.
@ReigningSemtex Right! It turned out to be ironically opposite with Rogue and Unity. And yes, the massive sales are due to brand recognition and the fact it was a brand new AC on next-gen consoles. It truly looked promising during its aggressive marketing campaign, so no one would've guessed it would turn out to be as disappointing as it was. I certainly didn't see that coming. :/ But hey, this all serves as a good lesson for everyone. Publishers and developers, delay your game if it's not fit to ship. Quality over profits (focusing on the former over the latter can come back to bite you hard). And gamers, be VERY wary about pre-ordering games. Sometimes it's best to wait and see how a game turns out before you buy one with your hard-earned cash on day one.
@ReigningSemtex Thanks for pointing that out! Fixing it now.
Yeah, the whole situation is really sketchy considering how broken Unity was out of the gate. Surely they knew about it? It goes to show that you can't annually release a series like this, even if Unity had over three years of development. Ubisoft should've totally delayed it to avoid all of this, but they better learn from their mistakes from here on out.
@get2sammyb Really? How so, Sammy? I haven't played Unity yet (I'm still working on Black Flag), so I'd be curious to hear your reasons for why you think that. From what I've seen, the game looks visually stunning (excluding the frame rate).
PLEASE let this be true. And it's awesome to hear that the game might be bringing back how you got to play as "Heroes" in Battlefront II! You could only unlock them in a match after getting a certain amount of points as well.
I just wonder if all of this is true, I hope DICE isn't being rushed to get this out. The game sounds very ambitious, but hasn't the studio only been working on the game for...2 years? Either way, here's hoping the game has a smooth launch.
I think Sammy and Robert hit the nail on the head. Review scores in and of themselves are absolutely fine. I like them because 1. It helps me better understand the gist of a review when I skim over it due to lack of time and 2. invites further discussion about how the written portion relates to the score. It's silly to assume that scores are these "end-all absolutes" that apply an objective, quantifiable number to an opinionated piece that's open to change or be interpreted differently. I like to think of them - as Sammy said - as something you must judge based on how each individual website defines the scoring systems they use. In addition, Robert points out the great point that humans naturally try to categorize everything. How is it that I can correctly guess the score of any review most of the time when I read the entire written part before looking at the bottom? That means something, and to say that numbers cannot logically be applied to reviews is erroneous. They must be understood as what the reviewer believes best reflects his or her opinion. It'll sometimes not seem that way, but take it for what it is: a best guess.
The whole problem is just how people treat them. Metacritic qualifies the numbers all wrong; publishers abuse scores as these primary indicators to give raises, hire developers, and whatnot; people don't take the time to understand how different scores mean different things with different game review websites, and so on. If we can change the way these harmful practices are done, scores should have a future, because admit it: most of us love adding scores to stuff we review, from games to movies to books. But if they only become worse for the industry and game journalism in whatever ways...well, it's time to think about what should be done about that.
One thing I personally love about our site's scoring policy is that I like to think that a 9 reflects a range rather than a pure and simple 9 (it's not like IGN, where you can go from 9 to 9.9). You know what I mean? It's like a scoring system that uses words in five categories: horrible, bad, decent, above average, good, excellent. You can guess the number for all of these (horrible = 1-2/10, good = 7-8/10, etc.) but there isn't a fixed one that's "set in stone," so to speak. There's an ambiguity here, which is why there's a good sense of room and lasting power to our scoring because it's not as strangely specific as giving out 8.9s and 7.1s or annoyingly ambiguous like Kotaku's Yes/No scoring system. It strikes a nice balance between the two. I personally prefer to be a bit more specific, so I personally wish we could add .5s to our scores to have the nice midway point between numbers (I have no idea how many times I've debated between choosing between 8 and 9, 6 and 7, etc.). It's why I think Gameinformer's scoring is near perfect, but that's just me.
Okay, rant over. Sorry about that! I've had plenty of discussions about this issue before and how I like scores but hate how they're being detrimentally used against developers. I'm kind of on the fence like Robert, if you couldn't tell. You might not be able to if any of what I said made coherent sense. lol Anyway, great article to post, Sammy and Robert!
@Unashamed_116 looks at username
YEEEAAAHH!!! UNASHAMED! lol It's awesome to see a Reach Records fan - out of all places - on Push Square. But yes, I did see Trip Lee (and KB!) on Friday night with a friend in North Carolina. He was as awesome as I thought he would be, and I'm glad I decided to go see him live. And I agree...his new album is fantastic. Rise, I'm Gone, Sweet Victory, and Lights On are my favorite tracks.
I want a Spyro Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot Trilogy for the PS4. Remastered by the original developers or another developer with stamps of approval from Insomniac and Naughty Dog (respectively).
Boy, would I be a happy camper if that ever happened. lol But other than that, I would certainly be up for the Uncharted games being remastered for the PS4. There's the Mass Effect trilogy, inFAMOUS 1 and 2, all three BioShock games, and...oh, and let's not forget Resident Evil 2 and 3! Capcom remastered the first one (twice now). Why not the other main games in the series? Both of them are classics!
I really hope this is true. World at War is my favorite Call of Duty and actually one of my top 10 favorite games. Count me REALLY excited if this ends up being true.
Awesome news! I've kind of dismissed this game after hearing all of the negative criticism that's been piled on it when it came out for PC last year. I was originally very excited for it, but it sounds like it has too many problems with the PvP stuff and dungeon exploration (You'll find enemies and bosses in some of them that were slayed by other players minutes before you get there...ugh).
But now that there's no subscription? I might just give this a shot. Hopefully Zenimax has learned a lot from the PC release and will improve it before it releases on the PS4 (much like Diablo III). And if this turns out great, I'll be egging on my friends constantly to buy it as well. lol But again, smart move on Zenimax's part. Their game has my interest once again.
@ShogunRok Ah, I have NO idea why I didn't think of this. Of course they'll do it. lol But you'd think Starbreeze would've ported it before selling the IP off to make a little more off of it while they still could. No time since they're busy working on something else? Interesting to think about.
@Jaz007 Hmm...I'm not sure, but that would definitely be something I would like to know. Maybe they've "sold" more than that number!
@Bobbytheb Wow! I think the highest we got on Kino der Toten is...34? 36? Most of the time it had taken us 4-6 hours to get to that point and it was really late, so we gave up. lol If we kept going on some of them, we might've gotten to somewhere around 38, but we usually ran out of ammo during a long round and couldn't get a Max Ammo. I hated that! lol @Cowboysfan-22 I don't care what people say...that game had so many unbalancing issues and suffered from other problems, but I had SO much fun with it. I even think the unbalanced stuff (people that ran around with knife-only classes and Commando, OMA noobtubers, etc.) made it more fun in a strange way. It was always so satisfying to kill people who used those annoying classes. I think I put 16 days of time into the multiplayer, which is kind of a lot. ._.
Let's see...getting my first Tactical Nuke in Modern Warfare 2 was a major highlight. Pure ecstasy. Also managed to "no scope" someone while I was hit with a flash bang, so you could say I was really, really surprised when that happened. I could also bring up a lot of Nazi Zombies rounds where my three close friends and I made it in the 30+ range on multiple maps with insane feats of luck. My favorite sessions were when I was the last one alive and I would circle the map over and over trying to kill dozens of zombies by myself. THAT was intense and exciting, and sometimes I managed to do it! Other than that, locally playing all of FUSE and Scott Pilgrim with those friends was a ton of fun as well. Can't think of anything else at the moment though.
@italodance Actually, I would advice against playing this on the Vita if you haven't done that yet. My eyes were straining in trying to make out my character amid the game's chaotic shootouts. The bright contrasting colors don't help ease this straining, too. :/ I was going to mention the Vita version, but since the PS4 version is the only one that has the multiplayer mode, Sammy and I decided it was best to cover this version instead. But since the title is Cross-buy and cross-save, there's no harm in taking it with you on the road. I just prefer the PS4 version.
Loved The Last of Us' multiplayer mode. Huge surprise for me that it turned out to be so good. I thought it was just tacked on, but I was thankfully dead wrong. By the way, excellent picture for the article, @get2sammyb. Drake's joyous expression is priceless. lol
@divinelite The levels are wider and are therefore designed a bit differently with slightly more enemies, obstacles, etc. I'm not sure if the mini arcade games were in the PS Mobile version, but I know for sure the multiplayer mode is a new addition and it's only on the PS4 (not on the Vita, unfortunately). The graphics are also upscaled for the PS4, which is a bit strange considering the pixelated graphics, but perhaps it looks a bit sharper and more colorful now. I hope that helps!
@hi_drnick @Johnnycide I meet both of those requirements as someone who is young AND American.
But anyway, being someone who has heard and read about many consoles and game systems dating way back when, I was surprised that I had never heard of the ZX Spectrum! I had to do a little research to see what it was all about. I do still think its obscure to a degree because I know plenty about the C64, but never even heard of this one, so perhaps that backs up my claim a bit (ha ha).
I will admit that I was really surprised to find out P.T. made it above other games I would've picked over it any day, but if there's one thing I can say about it, it made me feel dreadful like no other horror game has done for me. I was literally shaking and on the verge of turning it off for how uncomfortable it made me feel. There's something to be said about that, and even though I personally wouldn't have voted for it over, say, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Second Son, or Dragon Age, many of my fellow editors did without any prior discussions. It just happened, so...there you go. Take it as you will!
I love it when this happens because Sony can say, "Yeah, people bought so many PS4s that they broke our servers." : P I remember this happening with the Wii U last year. But I do hope PSN comes back soon for all of the new users!
Ha, I love the part where Chun-Li has the bowl of noodles fall on her head and it remains there the entire next round. Although I'm no good at this game, it looks fantastic and solid. Can't wait to see more gameplay in the future!
Comes at no surprise to me due to those bundles (which you pointed out). Microsoft had some awesome deals going on during November for the Xbox One. In fact, I almost purchased one, but refrained from doing so due to financial constraints. And like you said, I actually think it's good to see this. A balance is needed in the competition between Sony and Microsoft, much like how the Light Side must balance out the Dark Side in the Star Wars universe...what? I'm not making explicit parallels here.
@JaxonH That's absolutely fine. Christians feel differently about these issues, and being one myself, I confess that I'm much more open to things like horror games since they don't personally offend or negatively influence me. But still, I look at things differently, too. Anyway, let's move on and get back to the topic at hand about how awesome Uncharted 4 looks!
And since everyone's talking about the graphics comparison, I'm not sure there's a downgrade in the visuals. The other screenshot takes place at a darker time of the day and he's all wet, so that's why it's more impressive. We'll have to wait for future footage to see if that E3 presentation was an actual representation of the in-game engine or not. :/
@JaxonH I don't like it when any character does that either, but it's a common reaction from a lot of people to surprising or unfortunate situations, and it makes sense considering that Nathan Drake - being a thief and all - is not a religious man. Of course, the game could certainly get by without being offensive in that regard (gosh, the swearing in the first game was borderline annoying because it was so constant), but Naughty Dog has the right to put this in their game even if you and I might find it offensive.
But back on track, I'm super excited for it. That gameplay was phenomenal on so many levels and a major step up from the more linear shootouts from the past games.
It was alright. It was basically new footage of games we've known about for a long time, ports and remasters, and a bunch of new Indie games. Would've liked to have seen new announcements for a couple more major first-party projects and third-party projects, especially for the poor Vita (still doomed to exist as just a handheld for ports). The highlight for me was Uncharted 4, obviously. Everything else from that could hardly compare (for obvious reasons ). Weak ending, too. But overall, I thought it was still enjoyable. I expected more though, but perhaps that's not fair? I don't know.
@Jazzer94 Absolutely! Like I said, it may not last most people long, but it's truly worth buying. @ShogunRok This was one of my first PS1 games, too! In fact, it was one of the first true video games I played as a kid. I remember playing this when I was 5, I think, and the river sections are definitely awesome. I just love the whole concept of it!
Seeing that Spyro can fly around, has fire breath, sharp horns to ram with, and greater intelligence (I'd imagine), I would say he would triumph over Crash. I'm not going to deny the fight would be close...but I think Spyro would come out on top. And this is coming from a guy who loves both the Crash and Spyro games, so yeah.
After reading all of these glowing reviews for Inquisition, I'm going to have to play this game at some point. Your review is excellent, Robert! But first I want to go through Origins and II. Although I've heard people say you don't have to play them, I would like to, and it'd make going into Inquisition later all the more awesome.
Sounds good enough to warrant a purchase from me! The narrative and culture explored in the game are what interest me the most, so if the gameplay is solid enough with little issues, I really need to check this out during my Christmas break (what better time to play it?).
Ha, I like how you can see Dr. Vargas and Lucas in the background with the glowing orange eyes (pretty creepy!) And Knack just looks awesome. Now JAPAN Studio...you're going to do DLC where Knack can have that Helghast helmet and wield the M82 Assault Rifle, right?
...But I just got the trilogy for the PS3. Don't make me have buyer's guilt, BioWare!
Mostly don't care though. The games still look pretty great on the PS3, so I wouldn't mind if it came out for new audiences to experience on the PS4. I already finished the first game and loved it! Can't wait to get to ME2.
@hadlee73 Sone of them actually weren't really scripted. From what I know, he can show up randomly in some locations depending on some of the things you do. Without any warning, he'd come blazing down an alleyway as the freaky music kicked in, and I was caught way off guard a lot. Yes, there are definitely scripted moments, but some aren't. And if they are, they sure don't seem like it!
@Godsire- Actually, Nemesis did come out for the GameCube, but I've heard it wasn't a good port. Can't confirm that at the moment though. I know nothing about a RE2 remaster, but I'm glad I looked it up because it actually exists! Never would've guessed. But I don't think any of them are considered remasters of the original games.
It's actually a tie for me between RE3 and RE4. I'd probably go with the latter as my favorite though. RE2 is next, then RE1, RE5, and RE6 last (not counting spin offs). I think all three of the first games were classics, but that's just me. I thought each one was a little better than the last, leading up to the supreme RE4, even if it's not the scariest game of the bunch that also loses some of its survival horror purity.
@Gnoll Yeah, that's right. He just used more of the tentacles in his body (I think) during that point in the game to try and grab you. And yes, that's why that part was so great! You think you've finally defeated him, but he's back for more in one of the hardest fights in my opinion.
He definitely transformed into that huge, mutated blog of tentacles in the laboratory. You're right on that, too. By the way, I wrote my last post in a hurry, so I said "chemicals" instead of "tentacles" for some reason. Fixed it though. Just clarifying if that was confusing.
@Gnoll Ah, yes! Everybody loves that mode. However, I played the game about two years ago and only played the campaign. I wanted to get straight to RE4 after it!
@wagleton Doesn't that happen after that guy (I forget his name) sacrifices himself on the train with a grenade to blow up Nemesis? You're exploring that church (?) and Nemesis eventually arrives with his suit torn apart? Or is that the part in the laboratory where he's this big mess of tentacles? I remember the former being the hardest part for me; you know, the battle with him after he shoots down the helicopter. That's what I'm referring to in this piece, actually.
So, essentially, they're saying you can unlock the "good portion" of Destiny's story with DLC? ...Why does that sound so wrong to me? lol
Anyway, I might buy it for the sake of playing with friends, but I kind of don't want to at the same time. Don't want to pay $20 for what seems like a glorified expansion pack with mainly new weapons, gear, etc. :/
A concise, informative review. Nice, Sammy! As someone who loves survival-horror and has played all six of the main RE titles (I wish I hadn't played RE6 though ), I'm still really interested in The Evil Within. The gameplay looks fantastic, and though there might be technical issues and frustrating bosses, I bet I'll have a lot of fun once I get my hands on this.
@iDangerMouse_ Yes, I had to be careful about spoilers and worded some of the things I said delicately. But I was sure to only mention story points that have been mentioned in advertising, trailers, etc. (e.g. Celebrimbor being the maker of the Rings of Power is mentioned in some interviews, Talion being dead or alive is questionable, which is why I put "dead" in quotation marks, etc.).
And yes, the Nemesis System is amazing! I wanted to mentioned an Orc I despised and killed that came back from the dead (with scars to prove it!), but that would've made my review a bit too long.
@KillTheG1mp Hello! Thank you for asking this question. This was actually something I forgot to include in the review that I should've mentioned. There is no difficulty setting like Assassin's Creed. I found the game really easy at first (like AC overall), which really worried me. However, after getting through more of the story, more Orcs became incredibly hard to defeat, especially in groups. So while there's bouts of easy fights at first, everything evens out to a satisfactory challenge about 7-10 hours in. You'll be dying a fair amount and have to reevaluate your approaches to certain Orcs at that point.
@WebHead It can feel that way sometimes, but I think the game is balanced overall in its difficulty. One of my favorite encounters in the game involved and Orc who was literally invincible to my combat attacks! I had to retreat and discover his weakness, which was stealth kills directly from behind. The game can really keep you on your toes by giving you dead easy Orcs to kill, and ones that seem ridiculously overpowered. It all works out well, I think.
@get2sammyb Sure! Even if you're not a fan of LotR (though it's a shame you aren't ), there's a lot of fun to be had from this game if you aren't really going to pay attention to the story.
And since everyone is talking about Destiny for some reason, I'll say that I've enjoyed my time more with Shadow of Mordor, though it's hard to compare both of them since they're really different. If I wasn't playing with friends, I'd already put the game on my shelf and moved on to something else. It gets really repetitive (you play the same campaign missions over and over on a harder difficulty after completing the main story, and that's really it...bleh), the story is a drag despite the huge lore to draw from, and the grind to get legendary loot doesn't really appeal to me. BUT it's fantastic in nearly every other area with near-perfect gunplay, stunning visuals and art direction, great co-op, exhilarating multiplayer, etc.
But as Sammy said, we should probably stick to discussing why Shadow of Mordor is a pretty great game.
@thedevilsjester Thanks for the reply! Yes, I suppose I should have said "more traditional" tower defense games, since you're right: Dungeon Defenders isn't exactly a pure tower defense game. But thanks for the recommendation of Final Fantasy Crystal Defenders! Considering it's Final Fantasy, it definitely piques my interest.
Ha, I was originally going to say this difference in the two versions of the game was indeed a hindrance at times and annoyed me, which is what most reviewers have said! However, the more I thought about it, it also forces you - like I said in the review - to prioritize where you place certain abilities first. So yes, it goes both ways as an equally frustrating and cool mechanic.
Comments 296
Re: Review: The Order: 1886 (PlayStation 4)
Although a lot of people have hated Ready at Dawn's decision to go for a heavy cinematic approach, I was honestly excited to see how it would turn out (you know, with the intentional low fps, letterbox presentation, film grain, etc. I find it an interesting experiment, like what The Evil Within did). And it seems they succeeded on that front...at the cost of having mediocre level design, decent gunplay, and excessive QTEs (reminds me of Resident Evil 6 from what I've heard...the QTEs in that game were horrendous and everywhere).
I was really hoping the game wouldn't turn out like this, but oh well. :/ My fears from reading and watching previews have come true. I'll definitely still rent it though. It's worth doing that to experience it. By the way, enjoyed the review, Sammy! Wonderfully written as always.
Re: Darksiders 2 Is Indeed Bringing Death to PS4
Oh man, I adored Darksiders II. Major fan of the series. Although this Definitive Edition is kind of unnecessary, it'd be awesome to play it again on the PS4. Now, if they include a touched-up Darksiders I with it, then it'd really deserve to be called a "Definitive Edition"! Everyone that haven't played the games should buy it if that were the case.
Re: Talking Point: How Important Is Game Length?
It all depends. Due to the limited amount of time I have to play games at this point in my life, I prefer 7 to 15-hour games. But length hardly matters to me as long as the experience of any given game isn't unnecessarily stretched thin or cut short to its detriment. Journey is a 3-hour long game, but it didn't need to be longer to be such a wonderful experience. Resident Evil 4 took me a shocking 25 hours to beat, but although any kind of shooter/survival horror game that stretches that long would seem to get repetitive after a while, the game fit that length perfectly, and I couldn't believe it engaged me for as long as it did.
So yeah, Skyrim invites players to experience it for as little or long as they want with its endless content; RPGs like Final Fantasy X keep audiences interested with in-depth stories for 40-50 hours, but all of these games are equally satisfying and memorable in their own ways disregarding length. It's games like Assassin's Creed III (too long) and MGSV: Ground Zeroes (too short) that made length a big factor in the game's enjoyment because it wasn't justified in either games regarding the experiences they provided. Well, in my opinion, that is.
Re: Ubisoft Admits Difficulties Developing Assassin's Creed Unity for the PS4
@ToOGoodOfAPlaya I think it's awesome Ubisoft tried new things as well, but to release it in the state it was in is -in my opinion - unacceptable. But I definitely agree with you on CoD. I thought AW did a lot to shake things up, which was commendable and really nice. But people still say it was bland and the same game as the one before it. 'sigh' that's just not fair. lol And this is coming from someone who's played nearly every title since the first one.
Re: Ubisoft Admits Difficulties Developing Assassin's Creed Unity for the PS4
@Godsire- Oh man. I understand why you wouldn't want to play the Ezio trilogy...but AC2 and Brotherhood are the best in the series, and AC2 is one of my top 10 favorite games. Both of them are absolutely phenomenal. Revelations is pretty good (great story), but went astray a bit trying new things. Other than that, if you have the trilogy already, I recommend you at least play the second one. Pinnacle of the series.
Re: Ubisoft Admits Difficulties Developing Assassin's Creed Unity for the PS4
@ReigningSemtex Right! It turned out to be ironically opposite with Rogue and Unity. And yes, the massive sales are due to brand recognition and the fact it was a brand new AC on next-gen consoles. It truly looked promising during its aggressive marketing campaign, so no one would've guessed it would turn out to be as disappointing as it was. I certainly didn't see that coming. :/ But hey, this all serves as a good lesson for everyone. Publishers and developers, delay your game if it's not fit to ship. Quality over profits (focusing on the former over the latter can come back to bite you hard). And gamers, be VERY wary about pre-ordering games. Sometimes it's best to wait and see how a game turns out before you buy one with your hard-earned cash on day one.
Re: Ubisoft Admits Difficulties Developing Assassin's Creed Unity for the PS4
@ReigningSemtex Thanks for pointing that out! Fixing it now.
Yeah, the whole situation is really sketchy considering how broken Unity was out of the gate. Surely they knew about it? It goes to show that you can't annually release a series like this, even if Unity had over three years of development. Ubisoft should've totally delayed it to avoid all of this, but they better learn from their mistakes from here on out.
Re: Ubisoft Admits Difficulties Developing Assassin's Creed Unity for the PS4
@get2sammyb Really? How so, Sammy? I haven't played Unity yet (I'm still working on Black Flag), so I'd be curious to hear your reasons for why you think that. From what I've seen, the game looks visually stunning (excluding the frame rate).
Re: Rumour: Star Wars: Battlefront Will Span the Series' Entire Saga on PS4
PLEASE let this be true. And it's awesome to hear that the game might be bringing back how you got to play as "Heroes" in Battlefront II! You could only unlock them in a match after getting a certain amount of points as well.
I just wonder if all of this is true, I hope DICE isn't being rushed to get this out. The game sounds very ambitious, but hasn't the studio only been working on the game for...2 years? Either way, here's hoping the game has a smooth launch.
Re: Talking Point: Do Review Scores Have a Future?
I think Sammy and Robert hit the nail on the head. Review scores in and of themselves are absolutely fine. I like them because 1. It helps me better understand the gist of a review when I skim over it due to lack of time and 2. invites further discussion about how the written portion relates to the score. It's silly to assume that scores are these "end-all absolutes" that apply an objective, quantifiable number to an opinionated piece that's open to change or be interpreted differently. I like to think of them - as Sammy said - as something you must judge based on how each individual website defines the scoring systems they use. In addition, Robert points out the great point that humans naturally try to categorize everything. How is it that I can correctly guess the score of any review most of the time when I read the entire written part before looking at the bottom? That means something, and to say that numbers cannot logically be applied to reviews is erroneous. They must be understood as what the reviewer believes best reflects his or her opinion. It'll sometimes not seem that way, but take it for what it is: a best guess.
The whole problem is just how people treat them. Metacritic qualifies the numbers all wrong; publishers abuse scores as these primary indicators to give raises, hire developers, and whatnot; people don't take the time to understand how different scores mean different things with different game review websites, and so on. If we can change the way these harmful practices are done, scores should have a future, because admit it: most of us love adding scores to stuff we review, from games to movies to books. But if they only become worse for the industry and game journalism in whatever ways...well, it's time to think about what should be done about that.
One thing I personally love about our site's scoring policy is that I like to think that a 9 reflects a range rather than a pure and simple 9 (it's not like IGN, where you can go from 9 to 9.9). You know what I mean? It's like a scoring system that uses words in five categories: horrible, bad, decent, above average, good, excellent. You can guess the number for all of these (horrible = 1-2/10, good = 7-8/10, etc.) but there isn't a fixed one that's "set in stone," so to speak. There's an ambiguity here, which is why there's a good sense of room and lasting power to our scoring because it's not as strangely specific as giving out 8.9s and 7.1s or annoyingly ambiguous like Kotaku's Yes/No scoring system. It strikes a nice balance between the two. I personally prefer to be a bit more specific, so I personally wish we could add .5s to our scores to have the nice midway point between numbers (I have no idea how many times I've debated between choosing between 8 and 9, 6 and 7, etc.). It's why I think Gameinformer's scoring is near perfect, but that's just me.
Okay, rant over. Sorry about that! I've had plenty of discussions about this issue before and how I like scores but hate how they're being detrimentally used against developers. I'm kind of on the fence like Robert, if you couldn't tell. You might not be able to if any of what I said made coherent sense. lol Anyway, great article to post, Sammy and Robert!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 55
@Unashamed_116
looks at username
YEEEAAAHH!!! UNASHAMED! lol It's awesome to see a Reach Records fan - out of all places - on Push Square. But yes, I did see Trip Lee (and KB!) on Friday night with a friend in North Carolina. He was as awesome as I thought he would be, and I'm glad I decided to go see him live. And I agree...his new album is fantastic. Rise, I'm Gone, Sweet Victory, and Lights On are my favorite tracks.
Re: Talking Point: Are There Any Remasters You Still Want to See on PS4?
I want a Spyro Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot Trilogy for the PS4. Remastered by the original developers or another developer with stamps of approval from Insomniac and Naughty Dog (respectively).
Boy, would I be a happy camper if that ever happened. lol But other than that, I would certainly be up for the Uncharted games being remastered for the PS4. There's the Mass Effect trilogy, inFAMOUS 1 and 2, all three BioShock games, and...oh, and let's not forget Resident Evil 2 and 3! Capcom remastered the first one (twice now). Why not the other main games in the series? Both of them are classics!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 53
@ferrers405 Now that sounds like the best kind of weekend!
Re: Rumour: Could Call of Duty: World at War II Be Treyarch's Next Title?
I really hope this is true. World at War is my favorite Call of Duty and actually one of my top 10 favorite games. Count me REALLY excited if this ends up being true.
Re: The Elder Scrolls Online Slaughters Subscription Fees on PS4
Awesome news! I've kind of dismissed this game after hearing all of the negative criticism that's been piled on it when it came out for PC last year. I was originally very excited for it, but it sounds like it has too many problems with the PvP stuff and dungeon exploration (You'll find enemies and bosses in some of them that were slayed by other players minutes before you get there...ugh).
But now that there's no subscription? I might just give this a shot. Hopefully Zenimax has learned a lot from the PC release and will improve it before it releases on the PS4 (much like Diablo III). And if this turns out great, I'll be egging on my friends constantly to buy it as well. lol But again, smart move on Zenimax's part. Their game has my interest once again.
Re: Starbreeze Studios Sells Off Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons to 505 Games
@ShogunRok Ah, I have NO idea why I didn't think of this. Of course they'll do it. lol But you'd think Starbreeze would've ported it before selling the IP off to make a little more off of it while they still could. No time since they're busy working on something else? Interesting to think about.
@Jaz007 Hmm...I'm not sure, but that would definitely be something I would like to know. Maybe they've "sold" more than that number!
Re: There Are Some Pretty Impressive Savings to Be Had in This 20th Anniversary PlayStation Store Sale
Need for Speed: Rivals for $12?
But...how? lol Time to throw money at Sony.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Most Memorable PlayStation Multiplayer Feats?
@Bobbytheb Wow! I think the highest we got on Kino der Toten is...34? 36? Most of the time it had taken us 4-6 hours to get to that point and it was really late, so we gave up. lol If we kept going on some of them, we might've gotten to somewhere around 38, but we usually ran out of ammo during a long round and couldn't get a Max Ammo. I hated that! lol
@Cowboysfan-22 I don't care what people say...that game had so many unbalancing issues and suffered from other problems, but I had SO much fun with it. I even think the unbalanced stuff (people that ran around with knife-only classes and Commando, OMA noobtubers, etc.) made it more fun in a strange way. It was always so satisfying to kill people who used those annoying classes. I think I put 16 days of time into the multiplayer, which is kind of a lot. ._.
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Most Memorable PlayStation Multiplayer Feats?
Let's see...getting my first Tactical Nuke in Modern Warfare 2 was a major highlight. Pure ecstasy. Also managed to "no scope" someone while I was hit with a flash bang, so you could say I was really, really surprised when that happened. I could also bring up a lot of Nazi Zombies rounds where my three close friends and I made it in the 30+ range on multiple maps with insane feats of luck. My favorite sessions were when I was the last one alive and I would circle the map over and over trying to kill dozens of zombies by myself. THAT was intense and exciting, and sometimes I managed to do it!
Other than that, locally playing all of FUSE and Scott Pilgrim with those friends was a ton of fun as well. Can't think of anything else at the moment though.
Re: Review: Rock Boshers DX: Director's Cut (PlayStation 4)
@italodance Actually, I would advice against playing this on the Vita if you haven't done that yet. My eyes were straining in trying to make out my character amid the game's chaotic shootouts. The bright contrasting colors don't help ease this straining, too. :/
I was going to mention the Vita version, but since the PS4 version is the only one that has the multiplayer mode, Sammy and I decided it was best to cover this version instead. But since the title is Cross-buy and cross-save, there's no harm in taking it with you on the road. I just prefer the PS4 version.
Re: PS4 Exclusive Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Will Obviously Have a Multiplayer Mode
Loved The Last of Us' multiplayer mode. Huge surprise for me that it turned out to be so good. I thought it was just tacked on, but I was thankfully dead wrong.
By the way, excellent picture for the article, @get2sammyb. Drake's joyous expression is priceless. lol
Re: Review: Rock Boshers DX: Director's Cut (PlayStation 4)
@divinelite The levels are wider and are therefore designed a bit differently with slightly more enemies, obstacles, etc. I'm not sure if the mini arcade games were in the PS Mobile version, but I know for sure the multiplayer mode is a new addition and it's only on the PS4 (not on the Vita, unfortunately). The graphics are also upscaled for the PS4, which is a bit strange considering the pixelated graphics, but perhaps it looks a bit sharper and more colorful now. I hope that helps!
Re: Review: Rock Boshers DX: Director's Cut (PlayStation 4)
@hi_drnick @Johnnycide I meet both of those requirements as someone who is young AND American.
But anyway, being someone who has heard and read about many consoles and game systems dating way back when, I was surprised that I had never heard of the ZX Spectrum! I had to do a little research to see what it was all about. I do still think its obscure to a degree because I know plenty about the C64, but never even heard of this one, so perhaps that backs up my claim a bit (ha ha).
Re: The Witcher 3 Collector's Edition Has Hunted Some Truly Stunning Steelbook Covers
@sham8nix The official movie posters.
Re: The Witcher 3 Collector's Edition Has Hunted Some Truly Stunning Steelbook Covers
Huh, these seem to be done in the style of the Star Wars posters by Drew Struzan. Very nice.
Re: Game of the Year: Silver Trophy - P.T.
I will admit that I was really surprised to find out P.T. made it above other games I would've picked over it any day, but if there's one thing I can say about it, it made me feel dreadful like no other horror game has done for me. I was literally shaking and on the verge of turning it off for how uncomfortable it made me feel. There's something to be said about that, and even though I personally wouldn't have voted for it over, say, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Second Son, or Dragon Age, many of my fellow editors did without any prior discussions. It just happened, so...there you go. Take it as you will!
Re: PSN Experiencing Christmas Turbulence as New Consoles Connect
I love it when this happens because Sony can say, "Yeah, people bought so many PS4s that they broke our servers." : P I remember this happening with the Wii U last year. But I do hope PSN comes back soon for all of the new users!
Re: PS4 Console Exclusive Street Fighter V Lashes Out With its First Live Gameplay Demo
Ha, I love the part where Chun-Li has the bowl of noodles fall on her head and it remains there the entire next round. Although I'm no good at this game, it looks fantastic and solid. Can't wait to see more gameplay in the future!
Re: November NPD: PS4 Loses to Xbox One for the First Time in Eleven Months
Comes at no surprise to me due to those bundles (which you pointed out). Microsoft had some awesome deals going on during November for the Xbox One. In fact, I almost purchased one, but refrained from doing so due to financial constraints. And like you said, I actually think it's good to see this. A balance is needed in the competition between Sony and Microsoft, much like how the Light Side must balance out the Dark Side in the Star Wars universe...what? I'm not making explicit parallels here.
Re: PS4 Exclusive Uncharted 4 Dazzles in Glorious Gameplay Demo
@JaxonH That's absolutely fine. Christians feel differently about these issues, and being one myself, I confess that I'm much more open to things like horror games since they don't personally offend or negatively influence me. But still, I look at things differently, too. Anyway, let's move on and get back to the topic at hand about how awesome Uncharted 4 looks!
And since everyone's talking about the graphics comparison, I'm not sure there's a downgrade in the visuals. The other screenshot takes place at a darker time of the day and he's all wet, so that's why it's more impressive. We'll have to wait for future footage to see if that E3 presentation was an actual representation of the in-game engine or not. :/
Re: PS4 Exclusive Uncharted 4 Dazzles in Glorious Gameplay Demo
@JaxonH I don't like it when any character does that either, but it's a common reaction from a lot of people to surprising or unfortunate situations, and it makes sense considering that Nathan Drake - being a thief and all - is not a religious man. Of course, the game could certainly get by without being offensive in that regard (gosh, the swearing in the first game was borderline annoying because it was so constant), but Naughty Dog has the right to put this in their game even if you and I might find it offensive.
But back on track, I'm super excited for it. That gameplay was phenomenal on so many levels and a major step up from the more linear shootouts from the past games.
Re: Talking Point: What Did You Think of Sony's PlayStation Experience Keynote?
It was alright. It was basically new footage of games we've known about for a long time, ports and remasters, and a bunch of new Indie games. Would've liked to have seen new announcements for a couple more major first-party projects and third-party projects, especially for the poor Vita (still doomed to exist as just a handheld for ports). The highlight for me was Uncharted 4, obviously. Everything else from that could hardly compare (for obvious reasons ). Weak ending, too. But overall, I thought it was still enjoyable. I expected more though, but perhaps that's not fair? I don't know.
Re: Who Would Win Wednesdays: PSone Anniversary Special
@TOMBOY25 Oh man. That Spyro picture is so brutal. ;_;
This is what I want to tell Activision to do with the franchise.
http://i.minus.com/iMBWrhCSwYVRw.gif
Re: Review: Crash Bandicoot (PSone)
@Jazzer94 Absolutely! Like I said, it may not last most people long, but it's truly worth buying.
@ShogunRok This was one of my first PS1 games, too! In fact, it was one of the first true video games I played as a kid. I remember playing this when I was 5, I think, and the river sections are definitely awesome. I just love the whole concept of it!
Re: Who Would Win Wednesdays: PSone Anniversary Special
Seeing that Spyro can fly around, has fire breath, sharp horns to ram with, and greater intelligence (I'd imagine), I would say he would triumph over Crash. I'm not going to deny the fight would be close...but I think Spyro would come out on top. And this is coming from a guy who loves both the Crash and Spyro games, so yeah.
Re: Talking Point: What's Your Favourite PlayStation Startup Sequence?
PlayStation 1 all of the way! It's not only my favorite Sony console startup sequence, but my favorite startup of all time.
Re: Feature: Black Friday 2014 Deals - Every PS4, PS3, and PlayStation Vita Sale
Managed to snag The Evil Within and Alien: Isolation today! Also got a couple of games for some of my friends for Christmas, which was really nice.
Re: Review: Dragon Age: Inquisition (PlayStation 4)
After reading all of these glowing reviews for Inquisition, I'm going to have to play this game at some point. Your review is excellent, Robert! But first I want to go through Origins and II. Although I've heard people say you don't have to play them, I would like to, and it'd make going into Inquisition later all the more awesome.
Re: Review: Never Alone (PlayStation 4)
Sounds good enough to warrant a purchase from me! The narrative and culture explored in the game are what interest me the most, so if the gameplay is solid enough with little issues, I really need to check this out during my Christmas break (what better time to play it?).
Re: Weirdness: What if PS4 Launch Hero Knack Was a Character in Killzone?
Ha, I like how you can see Dr. Vargas and Lucas in the background with the glowing orange eyes (pretty creepy!) And Knack just looks awesome. Now JAPAN Studio...you're going to do DLC where Knack can have that Helghast helmet and wield the M82 Assault Rifle, right?
Re: The Mass Effect Trilogy Is on the Cards for PS4, BioWare Wants Your Input
...But I just got the trilogy for the PS3. Don't make me have buyer's guilt, BioWare!
Mostly don't care though. The games still look pretty great on the PS3, so I wouldn't mind if it came out for new audiences to experience on the PS4. I already finished the first game and loved it! Can't wait to get to ME2.
Re: Push Scare: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Is an Underrated Survival Horror Smash
@hadlee73 Sone of them actually weren't really scripted. From what I know, he can show up randomly in some locations depending on some of the things you do. Without any warning, he'd come blazing down an alleyway as the freaky music kicked in, and I was caught way off guard a lot. Yes, there are definitely scripted moments, but some aren't. And if they are, they sure don't seem like it!
@Godsire- Actually, Nemesis did come out for the GameCube, but I've heard it wasn't a good port. Can't confirm that at the moment though. I know nothing about a RE2 remaster, but I'm glad I looked it up because it actually exists! Never would've guessed. But I don't think any of them are considered remasters of the original games.
It's actually a tie for me between RE3 and RE4. I'd probably go with the latter as my favorite though. RE2 is next, then RE1, RE5, and RE6 last (not counting spin offs). I think all three of the first games were classics, but that's just me. I thought each one was a little better than the last, leading up to the supreme RE4, even if it's not the scariest game of the bunch that also loses some of its survival horror purity.
Re: Push Scare: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Is an Underrated Survival Horror Smash
@Gnoll Yeah, that's right. He just used more of the tentacles in his body (I think) during that point in the game to try and grab you. And yes, that's why that part was so great! You think you've finally defeated him, but he's back for more in one of the hardest fights in my opinion.
He definitely transformed into that huge, mutated blog of tentacles in the laboratory. You're right on that, too. By the way, I wrote my last post in a hurry, so I said "chemicals" instead of "tentacles" for some reason. Fixed it though. Just clarifying if that was confusing.
Re: Push Scare: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Is an Underrated Survival Horror Smash
@Gnoll Ah, yes! Everybody loves that mode. However, I played the game about two years ago and only played the campaign. I wanted to get straight to RE4 after it!
@wagleton Doesn't that happen after that guy (I forget his name) sacrifices himself on the train with a grenade to blow up Nemesis? You're exploring that church (?) and Nemesis eventually arrives with his suit torn apart? Or is that the part in the laboratory where he's this big mess of tentacles? I remember the former being the hardest part for me; you know, the battle with him after he shoots down the helicopter. That's what I'm referring to in this piece, actually.
Re: Bungie Aims to Shoot Down Criticism of Destiny's Story with the Game's First Expansion
So, essentially, they're saying you can unlock the "good portion" of Destiny's story with DLC? ...Why does that sound so wrong to me? lol
Anyway, I might buy it for the sake of playing with friends, but I kind of don't want to at the same time. Don't want to pay $20 for what seems like a glorified expansion pack with mainly new weapons, gear, etc. :/
Re: Review: The Evil Within (PlayStation 4)
A concise, informative review. Nice, Sammy! As someone who loves survival-horror and has played all six of the main RE titles (I wish I hadn't played RE6 though ), I'm still really interested in The Evil Within. The gameplay looks fantastic, and though there might be technical issues and frustrating bosses, I bet I'll have a lot of fun once I get my hands on this.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 42
@Storytime7 SPIRIT TRACKS! high fives
Such an underrated LoZ game. Very innovative and charming in a lot of ways. You'll enjoy it!
Re: Review: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (PlayStation 4)
@iDangerMouse_ Yes, I had to be careful about spoilers and worded some of the things I said delicately. But I was sure to only mention story points that have been mentioned in advertising, trailers, etc. (e.g. Celebrimbor being the maker of the Rings of Power is mentioned in some interviews, Talion being dead or alive is questionable, which is why I put "dead" in quotation marks, etc.).
And yes, the Nemesis System is amazing! I wanted to mentioned an Orc I despised and killed that came back from the dead (with scars to prove it!), but that would've made my review a bit too long.
Re: Review: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (PlayStation 4)
@KillTheG1mp Hello! Thank you for asking this question. This was actually something I forgot to include in the review that I should've mentioned. There is no difficulty setting like Assassin's Creed. I found the game really easy at first (like AC overall), which really worried me. However, after getting through more of the story, more Orcs became incredibly hard to defeat, especially in groups. So while there's bouts of easy fights at first, everything evens out to a satisfactory challenge about 7-10 hours in. You'll be dying a fair amount and have to reevaluate your approaches to certain Orcs at that point.
@WebHead It can feel that way sometimes, but I think the game is balanced overall in its difficulty. One of my favorite encounters in the game involved and Orc who was literally invincible to my combat attacks! I had to retreat and discover his weakness, which was stealth kills directly from behind. The game can really keep you on your toes by giving you dead easy Orcs to kill, and ones that seem ridiculously overpowered. It all works out well, I think.
@get2sammyb Sure! Even if you're not a fan of LotR (though it's a shame you aren't ), there's a lot of fun to be had from this game if you aren't really going to pay attention to the story.
And since everyone is talking about Destiny for some reason, I'll say that I've enjoyed my time more with Shadow of Mordor, though it's hard to compare both of them since they're really different. If I wasn't playing with friends, I'd already put the game on my shelf and moved on to something else. It gets really repetitive (you play the same campaign missions over and over on a harder difficulty after completing the main story, and that's really it...bleh), the story is a drag despite the huge lore to draw from, and the grind to get legendary loot doesn't really appeal to me. BUT it's fantastic in nearly every other area with near-perfect gunplay, stunning visuals and art direction, great co-op, exhilarating multiplayer, etc.
But as Sammy said, we should probably stick to discussing why Shadow of Mordor is a pretty great game.
Re: Review: Anomaly 2 (PlayStation 4)
@thedevilsjester Thanks for the reply! Yes, I suppose I should have said "more traditional" tower defense games, since you're right: Dungeon Defenders isn't exactly a pure tower defense game. But thanks for the recommendation of Final Fantasy Crystal Defenders! Considering it's Final Fantasy, it definitely piques my interest.
Ha, I was originally going to say this difference in the two versions of the game was indeed a hindrance at times and annoyed me, which is what most reviewers have said! However, the more I thought about it, it also forces you - like I said in the review - to prioritize where you place certain abilities first. So yes, it goes both ways as an equally frustrating and cool mechanic.